Mark of Athena: The Black Wolf Joins
by Jason Grace son of zues
Summary: It was supposed to be simple. Get to Greece, fight the Giants, stop Gaea from waking up and destroying the world. But that was before the three unknowns showed up with unnatural knowledge of the Crew of the Argo II and mysterious powers. Now as the Argo II heads towards Rome, they must learn to trust their new comrades or be destroyed by fear. Takes place during Mark of Athena.
1. Chapter 1

_**Annabeth**_

Well it was official. The gods loved screwing things up!

Ok, maybe she should recap what had happened so far, just to make sure she had things straight.

Well first their ship, the _Argo II,_ had arrived at Camp Jupiter, the Roman demigod camp. It had been a bit tense when they had run into the exploding talking statue named Terminus, the god of boundaries, before they managed to get the ship parked, for lack of a better term. She had reunited with her boyfriend Percy Jackson (which she had been very happy about) then talked with some of the Romans while Leo Vladez, their pilot of the _Argo II _and son of Hephaestus, had shown around some idiot named Octavian. After a decent meal and getting a prophecy from a harpy of all things, she had talked with the leader of the camp Renya about this plan of Hera's (or Juno if you were Roman) to being the camps together to stop the awakening of Gaea.

Then their ship had started firing on New Rome, destroying buildings, making fires, and causing general chaos. For some reason that made their hosts upset. After fighting her way back to the ship through crowds of angry demigods trying to capture her. After some events happened, which resulted in Jason Grace being knocked out by a brick to the head and them arriving on the ship to find Leo loading the ballista to fire again but he looked and acted...off. Long story short, they had ended up having to run away from New Rome with their ship damaged. Now Leo was trying to find a place to make repairs, Jason was below decks being tended to by their satry/chaperone/crazy gym coach Coach Hedge and looked after by his girlfriend Piper.

So, to recap. The Romans were angry and would be wanting revenge against them, one of their friends was hurt, their ship was damaged, and they had to get to the ancient lands alone to stop an earth goddess from waking and destroying the world. Oh, and she had her own problems with her mother and the gift she had been given to deal with, can't forget that.

Sometimes being a demigod sucked. Wait, scratch that, it _always _sucks.

Annabeth had just finished checking on Jason, Piper, and Hedge with Percy and it sounded like he just needed rest then he'd be back up and on his feet in no time. Now she was coming back on deck to check on Leo, and Frank while Percy took a quick look around. Before the _Argo II_ had been something to see. It was a Greek trireme that was two hundred feet long with a bronze-plated hull, mounted rotating crossbows fore and aft, their metal dragon head named Festus that could breath fire, plus two rotating ballistae amidships that could fire explosive bolts. But now it look much sadder then before, with the aft crossbows were destroyed, the foresail was shredded and a groaning was coming from the port side while the ship kept listing to the side and shuddering as they flew through the clouds. Leo and Framk were both near the front, the former talking to Festus while the later was apparently just listening. As she approached, Leo told Frank something before Frank shrunk into a eagle, flapped his wings, then dove over the side towards the ground with a cry.

"Where's he going?"

Leo jumped slightly before turning to look at her, but he seemed hesitant to meet her stormy gray eyes. He must still be scared of her after her questioning earlier.

"Uh, he's going to let Hazel know where to go. Festus found a place where we can make repairs to the ship." The Latino teen said, fiddling with his ever present tool belt and drumming his fingers. They never seemed to be still, but were in constant motion just like his mind.

"Where?"

"The Great Salt Lake in Utah." Leo answered before he asked nervously, "How's Jason?"

"Coach says he'll be fine with some rest. Piper is looking after him." The blond shook her head, trying to think straight. Being wisdom's daughter didn't mean she had clear thinking all the time, even if she was clever. "How long to reach the lake?"

"About twenty minutes according to Festus. Once we get there we'll need lime, tar, and Celestial bronze for repairs."

"Where are we supposed to get that?"

"Hope we get lucky?" Leo didn't seem to have anything better. Plus dumb luck did seem to pity them once in a while so, who knew. "Sorry."

"It's fine." Annabeth rubbed her brow. "Let's just hope nothing else goes wrong."

She had to say it.

Festus suddenly started creaking and clicking quickly, catching Leo's attention. The mechanic had programmed him to communicate with a language only he understood because he thought it was cool.

"What's wrong boy?" The dragon clicked and clacked for a few seconds. "What?"

Annabeth's right hand unconsciously drifted towards her dagger on her hip. "What's wrong?"

"Festus says the sensors are picking up something on the ship, right behind..."

_**SNAP-CRACKLE**_

Reflexes born from years of experience and practice meant the blond whirled around while also pulling out her bronze weapon from its sheath, ready for anything. Leo acted slower than her, but he used his special power to cause both his hands to burst into reddish orange flames. Annabeth's eyes scanned the ship before the sound repeated itself, followed by a tendril of electricity jumping from mid-air and reaching for her dagger, but dying before it could reach it.

_What the... _Annabeth wasn't able to finish her thought before there was one more crackle and tendril of electricity, followed by a bright flash of light that forced her and Leo to shield their eyes. Annabeth heard three pairs of feet hit the deck before the light faded.

"Well, that was fun." A female voice Annabeth didn't know spoke up, sounding playful and amused, but it sounded older than she was.

"Ugh, I don't know how River deals with that all the time." Another voice, this one male and sounding closer in age to her, spoke up while sounding slightly uneasy. "I feel like I just got sucker punched."

"You'll be ok, just give it a minute." A third voice answered, again female but younger than the first and laced with some light concern. Annabeth lowered her arms and took in the owners of the voices. Her throat closed up and she felt like she was walking into a previously unknown batch of trouble.

The first woman, whom she assumed had spoke first, had a curvaceous body that would put just about anyone to shame with a chest that was almost beyond belief. She had long _purple_ hair that was pulled back into a ponytail and the sides of her face were framed with long bangs. She wore a short maroon one-piece dress that was opened in the front to expose her navel and her amble cleavage. It ended just below her hips, barely low enough to cover her butt cheeks. Annabeth didn't know how she could stand wearing that, since she would die of embarrassment just thinking about wearing something like that, but she seemed comfortable in it. In regards to height, she was a head or so taller than her, but she was also wearing heels.

The second woman looked younger, only a few years older then herself, but she was still stunning. Her skin was dark, somewhere between milk chocolate and mocha colored. Her hair was jet black, falling to her lower back while some was cut shorter so it hung above her shoulders. Her clothes were also more practical, a black blouse and blue jeans, completed with black boots. She also had a sheathed dagger on her left hip, which Annabeth was very aware of. One other thing that caught her attention were her eyes, which were a light shade of purple.

The third member was the only boy of the group, but he was the most dangerous according to Annabeth's instincts. He looked a year older than her, but no more. He had black hair, lightly tanned skin and was a few inches taller than she was. The clothes consisted of a black hoodie that was unzipped, showing a black shirt that had a white wolf head design that was looking to his right, while also having heavy duty black jeans and running shoes. His right wrist had a worn looking piece of leather wrapped around it with a number pad and small screen above that. But Annabeth really noticed his sword, which was in a black sheath that was etched with silver in flowing, swirling patterns, and it had a black handle. His eyes were also closed like he was trying to get his bearings (or apparently trying to get over the feeling of being sucker punched). He took a breath and opened them.

The only other time she had seen eyes like that had been when she had met the goddess Artemis. But his eyes didn't glow like moonlight, they just had the same silver color as her. Deep, alien, hinting that he had seen things she could scarcely imagine and that he was more powerful then he looked.

The teen shook his head and pressed a hand to his temple. "Ok, I think I'm good now."

"Great. So...where are we Tobias?" The dark skinned girl asked looking around the ship in interest.

Taking a quick look around, Tobias, which was apparently his name, whistled in impressment. "The _Argo II._"

If the arrival hadn't set Annabeth's nerves on end, that certainly did. "Who are you?" She demanded.

Tobias looked at her like she was a science experiment that had done something interesting.

"And who are these two?" The taller woman asked.

"Annabeth Chase and...hey Leo, stop gawking at Kazehana!"

Annabeth snapped her head around to see, yes, Leo was gawking at the woman, or rather his eyeline suggested he was looking at her...chest. His fire had also gone out. Feeling righteous feminine anger rear it's ugly head, Annabeth stomped on his left foot. Hard.

"OW!" Leo jumped up and down while keeping his injured foot off the ground. "What was that for!?"

"Guess," Annabeth growled before bringing her attention back to the group in front of her. "And how do you know our names?"

"Right, introductions." The teen paused then snorted. "Huh, so this is what he feels like when he does that. Anyways, Tobias Song, Yahan, and Kazehana." He pointed to himself, the dark skinned girl on his right, then the woman on his left. "As to how I know your names, you wouldn't belive me if I told you."

"Try me. Or we can throw you off the ship, in mid-air."

They all stared at her for a second before they started snickering. "I'd love to see you throw us off." Was the amused response.

Before Annabeth could response, three people came on deck. Percy and Coach Hedge from below decks, the later carrying his trusty club over his shoulder. Frank, still a eagle, flew up and landed next to them, shifting back to human form.

"Hey I talked to Hazel and she said..." He stopped when he noticed the new arrivals, at the same time Percy and Coach had. The Coach went for his typical response.

"INTRUDERS!" He charged, goat hooves thumping against the deck while he waved his club. "DIE!" Percy was right behind him, pulling out his trusty pen Riptide. He popped out the cap and the pen grew longer and thicker until he held his sword.

"Yahan, take the goat." Tobias said while turning and charging Percy, drawing his sword to show it was tinged green instead of bronze. Yahan drew her dagger as she got in range of the satyr's club, which he swung at her head in an attempt to brain her. She ducked underneath and knocked his feet, or hooves if you preferred, out from under him. She then pressed her weapon to his throat.

"That's it?" She actually sounded depressed and slightly stunned at how easy that had been. Annabeth had to agree, for all the supposed training the coach did and how much he watched mixed martial arts videos, that was...pathetic.

Meanwhile Tobias and Percy crossed swords before breaking off, Percy swinging at the right leg of his opponent. He was parried and Tobias attempted a thrust at the stomach. Percy sidestepped and elbowed him in the chest. His breath whoofing out, Tobias took a step back as Percy pressed his advantage with more swings. Sadly he didn't get any more hits as he was blocked and misdirected.

"Stop!" Everyone did and looked, which let them see Annabeth was standing next to Kazehana while pressing her dagger flat against her neck. "Or I kill your friend."

She wasn't a fan of taking hostages but if it worked, she'd do it. She expected them both to back away, but what actually happened was Tobias's eyes hardened. The smile and light chuckle that came from him was cold.

"She's not my friend." Annabeth blinked in confusion before he continued. "Yahan..."

She looked down, apparently looking at something before nodding. She pulled away her dagger, suddenly dropping into the deck and vanishing. Annabeth heard a gasp from Frank and Leo before cold metal touched her neck.

"Nice try." She heard breathed into her ear. She looked out of the corner of her eye to see Yahan right behind her. "But you'll have to do better then that."

"Ok, let's all just...calm down. We didn't come here to fight."

"Then why are you here, and who are you?" Percy growled. He got like that when Annabeth was threatened she knew, and it always made her feel a bit warm.

Tobias slowly lowered his sword and looked at his companions. The cold metal disappeared from her throat while her own hand was gently pushed away from her captives throat. Kazehana stepped around her and she felt rather then saw both her and Yahan vanish, only to raise up out of the shadow behind Tobias. Annabeth's eyebrows shot up.

_Shadow travel!?_

Tobias sheathed his sword and let his arms fall to his side.

"Who we are is long and complicated, so that'll have to wait until after repairs and Leo gets this thing working properly again. As to why we're here...we're here to help you defeat Gaea."

**A/N: Well, this is the start of something new in my book. My own OC inserted into a universe I love reading about and think I could do a decent job of writing myself. Now, for those who want information on who Tobias is, I direct you to my profile page where I have posted a profile of Tobias. If you want more information on who Tobias is then just that, please direct yourself to the story included near the top of the profile. As normal, Review please and let me know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I own nothing**

_**Leo**_

"Where do you come from?" Piper's charmspeak was super cool, and yet super creepy. Leo could hear the power in it and he felt like telling her his life story. The ones she was trying to use it on though...

"Someplace complicated." The dark haired teen, Tobias or whatever his name was, responded boredly. He and his two really beautiful friends (were they maybe daughters of Aphrodite?) were all sitting on the deck with their hands tied. They also had been relived of their weapons, namely the sword that wasn't made of Celestial bronze and the surprisingly well made dagger. Leo was itching to examine the black sheath and find out what it was made of, but that would have to wait.

Piper looked irritated and repeated the question with yet more power. _"Where do you come from?"_

It had taken a while, but everyone excluding Jason was on deck to see what would come from this questioning. Coach Hedge was tapping his club against his leg threateningly, looking ready to smack someone upside the head. If Leo had to guess, he was irritated with getting taken down so quickly earlier. Annabeth was resting her hand on her dagger, looking relaxed but he could feel the gears in her head turning. Frank was shifting uncomfortably, Percy was clenching his pen, and Leo was watching the weapons while wanting to try and steer the ship.

The dark skinned girl named Yahan looked like she was about to speak, eyes glazed over. Everyone leaned forwards in anticipation before her eyes suddenly cleared again. She smirked.

"Somewhere complicated."

Piper threw up her hands. "What gives!? They keep throwing off my charmspeak like its nothing no matter how much I power I use."

Tobias sighed. "Let me give you a hint. Coach, do you happen to smell anything unusual?"

"Watch it cupcake!" The satyr leaned forwards to shout directly into his face. "Or I'll..." He stopped shouting, which got everyone's attention. The coach never stopped mid-shout. And he started sniffing the teen before shifting to the girls. "What in Hades?" His tone was confused.

"Coach. What is it?" Percy asked.

"They don't smell like demigods. He smells like a human," He pointed at Tobias. "mixed with something I've never smelled before, and those two smell different but it's still nothing I've ever smelled before. But the weird thing is that I also smell..." He took a deep breath through his nose. "Two empathy links, connecting those two with him."

Everyone was stunned while the two captive girls sent a questioning look at Tobias. Seeing them, he apparently elaborated. "Something similiar to our bonds, but not quite the same. It's less personal and permanent." They nodded in understanding. "Now, down to business."

There were three snaps as the thick rope around their wrists suddenly broke, making everyone tense and prepare their weapons. Leo's hands burst into flames, but aside from a slight pins and needles sensation, he didn't feel anything as their captives stood up, rubbing their wrists.

"You have some good power Piper, using charmspeak to overpower somebody's will to make them do what you want. The problem with us is our bond let's us reinforce the others will so you can't make us do what you want. Plus you're using it all wrong." Tobias explained before looking at Leo. "And we'll get rid of those." His eyes focused on the mechanics hands. The air around his hands suddenly felt colder while his flames went out. No matter how hard he tried, they wouldn't come back.

Percy uncapped his sword and pointed at it at Tobias. "Stop playing games and tell us who you are."

"How about this?" Tobias pushed the sword away his throat with his finger. "We're going to need to land in about three minutes and with the oars out of place it's not going to be pretty. So, let's land, get Hazel here, then we'll talk about why we're here once everyone is together."

"Uh, he's right guys. With the port side oars out of place and the hull damaged landing isn't going to be pretty. I really, really need to man the controls now if we're going to land in one piece." Leo spoke up for he first time. If he didn't start the descent, they'd lose time making repairs and running from the Romans. Even if the _Argo II _was capable of traveling long distances, he doubted the Romans didn't have similiar methods of traveling quickly. And they seemed really anxious to get some revenge.

Everyone looked at Percy since he was the one with the most experience here. Hesitating for a second, he sighed. "Leo, get this boat down. We'll head below deck with these three."

"Actually I'd prefer if we stay up here. Me and Kazehana might be able to help land this." Tobias didn't say it like it was a suggestion. "Oh, and I'll take that back too please." He held out an hand towards Leo, looking at the sword and dagger he held.

"Not an option. You can stay on deck, but you don't get your weapons back." Percy said firmly, eyes narrowed. Tobias turned to look at him, silver eyes meeting sea green in a unyielding stalemate. After a few seconds Tobias shrugged.

"Fine. Let's call this a show of faith then, that we don't mean any harm."

Percy took the weapons while he and the others headed below deck, save for Leo, Coach Hedge, and the three unknowns. Leo was attempting to land the ship in the lake while the coach was the front, waving his club and shouting, "YEAH! Bring it on lake!" Tobias and Kazehana were both sitting on the ground with their eyes closed for some reason, legs crossed and hands on their knees. Yahan was looking over the side in interest at the incoming body of water.

Festus was whirring and clicking warning signals over the intercom so it was heard all over the ship.

"I know, I know," Leo said through gritted teeth while trying to keep them steady. Due to his concentration he didn't have time to take in the scenery. There was a city to the southeast that was nestled into the foothills of a mountain range that was blue and purple in the afternoon shadows. There also was a flat desert landscape to the south, and the Great Salt Lake below them glittered like liquid diamonds. The shoreline was etched with white salt marshes that reminded Leo of photos of Mars surface.

"Hang on Coach, this is going to hurt!" Leo warned.

"I was born for hurt!"

Two seconds from impact, both Tobias and Kazehana's eyes snapped open.

"Now!" Both slammed their hands on the deck at Tobias's shout. Leo was thrown forwards and the coach almost went overboard as the ship suddenly stopped in mid-air, hovering above the water for a second. It then lowered and set down gently in the water. "Well that was easy. You ok?" Tobias asked and Kazehana nodded, neither looking like they were tired from somehow stopping a warship from crashing into a lake.

"Uh, Festus take us to the south shore please." Leo asked, not entirely sure what had happened but he had learned to go with things since learning he was a demigod. The oars dipped into the water and pushed them forwards at a decent speed.

"Why did you do that? That would've been awesome!" The coach demanded angrily.

"Because it would've damaged the ship even more, so this was better in the long term." Tobias answered, standing up while also helping up Kazehana. Leo rang the bell to signal it was all clear and headed towards the stairs. Before he got there he heard _thump-thump-thump, _each repatition shaking the hull. A tan stallion appeared on deck with one Hazel Levesque on his back.

"How-?" The question died in Leo's throat. "We're in the middle of a lake! Can that thing fly?"

The horse whined angrily.

"Arion can't fly," Hazel said. "But..."

"He can run fast enough that he goes across water, vertical surfaces, or small mountians. Nothing bothers him."

Hazel snapped her head around while Arion reared and neighed in surprise. Tobias was walking until he was in front of the magical horse, looking in its eyes curiously while the horse looked back.

"Who are you?" Hazel demanded while drawing her calvary sword.

"Tobias Song. And these are my companions Yahan and Kazehana," he gestured at both girls. Hazel blushed fiercely when she noticed how Kazehana was dressed. "It's a pleasure to meet you Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto." Tobias finished with a respectful bow of his head.

Hazel looked like she had been slapped while Arion shook his mane and snorted.

Coach Hedge approached the group with a suspicious look on his face, club at the ready. "Valdez, does this count as an invasion?"

"No! Um, Hazel you had better come with me. There's a stable below deck if Arion wants to-"

"Arion is a free spirit, he doesn't like enclosed spaces." Tobias interrupted as Hazel opened her mouth. She looked shocked again as he kept speaking. "He'll probably graze until Hazel calls him. But I know she has questions like the others so let's go meet them and I'll explain where we came from." He stopped for a second to look at Arion again and the horse stared back with a challenging gleam in his eye. Tobias bowed his head again, holding still as Arion sniffed him. Snorting and shaking his head, he took a step back as Hazel dismounted, keeping an eye on the two before the horse turned and galloped over the side of the ship, vanishing in a burst of water.

Tobias nodded his head, apparently satisfied before looking at Leo. "Lead the way Leo."

* * *

"So, questions. I know you all have them." Tobais said across from the table. He was sitting with Yahan on his right and Kazehana on his left, all on one side of the long table. The others were sitting on the other side, all of them tense. Piper was excluded since she had chosen to stay with Jason in his room.

"How do you know our names? That'll be a start." Percy asked.

"I know all of you. Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon and savior of Olympus. Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena and one of the cleverest demigods of the ages. Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto. Frank Zhang, son of Mars. Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus. Jason Grace, son of Jupiter. Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite. All part of the Prophecy of Seven to stop Gaea from destroying Western Civilization as we know it." Tobias listed off effortlessly. "I know everything about you."

"You didn't answer my question." Percy said steadily. Leo had to hand to the guy, he had an excellent poker face. He couldn't tell if he was unsettled as Leo, but he was pretty freaked out by how this guy had just listed them off like items on a shopping list while mentioning their mission and the Great Prophecy.

Tobias smiled slightly. "You're right, I didn't. Then to answer your question, I made sure to learn as much as I could before coming here."

"Why did you come here?"

Tobias laced his fingers together and set his chin on top of them. "I'm here to help you right Gaea and her Giants."

Silence. Leo didn't know how things had gone so quite so fast but they had, leaving everyone present staring at the teen before someone spoke up.

"I think you might've broken them." The purple haired woman Kazehana said, smirking in amusement. Leo still didn't get that, he had seen a lot of weird things since entering the world of gods and monsters and what not, but hair of that color was not one of those things.

"Coach, didn't you say they were mortal?" Percy directed the question to the satyr.

"I said he was part human'" Hedge nodded at Tobias. "But the smell those three are giving off is as least as strong as a child of the Big Three." Another stretch of silence from the demigods as they tried to digest this new piece of shocking information.

"Big Three?" Yahan looked at Tobias.

"The three eldest sons of the Titan Kronos. Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. Or if you prefer roman, Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto. Demigod children of those three are the strongest."

"How do you know so much about?" Annabeth demanded angrily.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Knowledge is power. You of all people should know that Annabeth, and I have a lot of knowledge at my disposal."

"How much?"

"Enough." Tobias then lifted his arms and stretched them above his head, groaning in satisfaction as they popped back into place. "How about this? The ship needs repair so we can get moving again, so let's repair first and then I'll answer more questions once we're sure the Romans aren't going to be dropping in unannounced."

Once again all eyes turned to Percy, who was silent. Leo guessed he was weighing the pros and cons of letting the questioning stop now. If they didn't stop now, they'd lose time repairing and might be caught by the Romans, but they'd learn more about their arrivals.

"One condition. None of you get your weapons back until Annabeth says so, plus you swear on the River Styx that none of you will work against us."

A quick glance at the girls and getting a nod in response, Tobias nodded. "We swear, and we swear to help you repair the ship as well." A rumble of thunder sealed the oath. Everyone relaxed a bit before Percy looked at Leo.

"So, what do we need to repair the ship?"

Leo spared a glance at Tobias but he simply stayed silent, looking expectant. "The easiest thing is tar. We can get that in the city, at a roofing-supply store or something like that. We also need Celestial bronze and lime, both of we can find on a island in the lake, just of here."

"We'll need to be fast." Hazel warned. "If I know Octavian, he's searching for us with his auguries and the Romans will be sending a strike force after us. It's a matter of honor."

Leo felt eyes on him. "Guys... I don't know what happened. Honestly, I-"

Annabeth interrupted by raising her hand. "It's fine Leo. We agree it wasn't _you_. That cold feeling you mentioned, I felt it too. It must've been magic of some sort, either Gaea or Octavian or one of her minions. But until we understand what happened..."

"It won't." Everyone stopped to look at, yet again, Tobias. He looked certain. "The first time it happened it was clear that Leo wasn't himself, right? If it's that easy to tell they've been possessed or whatever happened, it'll be even easier now that you know what to look for." Leo had to hand it to the guy, he knew how to sound reasonable and yet calming at the same time. He certainly felt better.

"Maybe we should use the buddy system, pair up. Coach and Piper can stay here with Jason while two teams get what we need, one for the tar the other for the bronze and lime."

"Splitting up sounds like a really bad idea." Percy said.

"But it'll be quicker. And there's a reason quests are limited to three demigods each, right?" Hazel threw in her own two cents. Annabeth raised an eyebrow, like she was rethinking Hazel's merits.

"You're right. That's why we needed the _Argo II, _outside of the camps seven demigods attract way too much monster attention. The ships designed to conceal and protect us on board bit if we have to leave it's better to be in small groups. Otherwise we alert Gaea's minions more then we have to."

Percy still didn't look happy but he took her hand. "I'm good if you're my buddy."

Hazel smiled. "Frank, can you fly them into town as a dragon to get the tar?"

He looked like he wanted to protest but said, "I...I guess. But what about you?"

"I can ride Arion with Sa-Leo to get the bronze and lime." She fiddled with her sword hilt, which made Leo uneasy and notice off hand she had more nervous energy than _he _did. "We can all meet back here by dark."

"I'll come with." Tobias volunteered. "The bronze is going to be heavy, the more hands he better right?"

Hazel hesitated slightly. "Arion can't carry three people."

"Four actually." Yahan smirked. "And he won't need to, we can get there on our own."

Leo remembered how the girl in front of him had sunk into the ground before raising out of Annabeth's shadow earlier like some dark skinned vampire. Considering that, he guessed that she got around pretty easy.

"Four people..." Annabeth started speaking up.

"It's four people, but only two demigods. I doubt monsters will notice us or even care if they do. Plus we're stronger than we look." Tobias cut her off. The two had a staredown that almost made Leo believe sparks were going to pop out of thin air from the intensity. Annabeth scowled but looked away first. Smirking slightly, Tobias asked, "Leo, how long to repair the ship?"

"With luck, a few hours"

"Well, let's get going then."

* * *

Riding Arion was easily the best thing Leo had done all day, but considering how much his day had sucked, that wasn't saying much. The hooves of the stallion turned the water surface to salty mist and, when he put his hand to the horses side, he could feel the muscles working like a well-oiled and high speed machine. Now he understood why car engines were measured in horsepower.

The island Festus had pointed out to him was a line of bright white sand, so white it looked like pure table salt. Behind that was a large expanse of grassy dunes and worn down boulders. They had left the ship with Hazel riding in front and him behind, one hand around her waist. When Hazel had asked Tobias and Yahan how they were going to follow, all she had gotten in response was a cryptic smile.

Percy had also pulled Leo aside before they had split up and told him Hazel's story in a somehow friendly/threatening manner. Now he knew she was a daughter of Pluto that had died in the 1940's and had only been alive again for a few months, which was hard to believe. Hazel was warm and kind and very much alive, which was really different from the ghosts and reborn mortals Leo had fought with before. Plus she was more social than he was.

Arion arrived on the beach before stopping quickly. He pawed at the ground before he whinnied in triumph. The two demigods dismounted as the horse snorted and shook his mane.

"He needs to eat," Hazel explained. "He likes gold but..."

"Gold?" Leo interrupted.

"He'll settle for grass. Thank you for the ride Arion. I'll call you later, in the meantime why don't you go graze."

The words had barely left her mouth before the horse was nothing more then a steaming trail across the lake.

Leo whistled. Now that he was seeing it instead of experiencing it, he could appreciate the speed even more. "Fast horse, and expensive to feed."

"Not really, gold is easy for me." Hazel shrugged.

Leo lifted an eyebrow. "How is gold easy? Please tell me you aren't related to King Midas, I don't have good experiences with him."

Hazel pursed her lips, apparently regretting that she had raised the subject. "Never mind. But how are the other two going to get here without..."

"We're already here."

Hazel jumped and whirled around just in time for Yahan and Tobias to lift out of her shadow like they were on a elevator. Leo also noticed they were holding hands but neither seemed too bothered by it. Actually they looked a bit disappointed when they dropped them.

Hazel was doing a pretty good imitation of a fish, mouth opening and closing before she spoke. "How did you..."

"That's my ability." Yahan lifted a hand with a smile and closed eyes, looking pleased. "I'm able to use shadows to teleport from one place to another, as long as I know where I'm going." She shrugged. "It comes in handy sometimes."

"Yes it does." Tobias chuckled before looking at Leo. "So, lime."

"Uh, right." Leo knelt down and stopped up a handful of sand, looking it over. "Well that's one problem solved. This is lime."

"The whole beach?" Hazel frowned, but she spared a glance at the other two as they started looking around the grassy hills.

"Yeah. See how the granules are perfectly round? It's not really sand, it's calcium carbonate. Or to use the regular name, lime." Leo pulled a Ziploc bag from his toolbelt then dug his hand into the lime. He froze suddenly, feeling some kind of feeling paralyze him. He remembered how Gaea would appear to him- a sleeping face that would swirl with dust or sand or dirt as she taunted him. He imagined her closed eyes and dreaming smile forming in front of him, white and grainy.

_Walk away, little hero, _Gaea whispered. _Without you, the ship cannot be fixed._

"Leo, are you ok?" Hazel asked.

He took a shaky breath. Dirt Face wasn't here, he was just freaking himself out.

"Yeah, I'm ok. Just thinking too much." Leo pulled out his handful of lime and dumped it into the bag. Hazel knelt next to him as he started filling it.

"We should've brought a bucket and shovels."

Leo smiled, the idea cheering him up. "We could've made a sand castle."

"You mean a lime castle."

Their eyes locked for a second too long until Hazel looked away. "You are _so _much like-"

"Sammy?"

She fell backwards. "You know?"

"Frank asked me if I was sure that wasn't my name but I don't know anyone named Sammy."

"You don't have a twin brother or..." She stopped. "Is your family from New Orleans?"

"Nah, Houston. Why, is Sammy a guy you used to know?"

"I...it's nothing. You just look a lot like him."

They filled the bag together quietly while Leo mulled over what Hazel had said. If she was from the past then did that mean Sammy was someone from the 1940's? Then how could Frank know him, and why did Hazel think he was Sammy all this time later?

They finished filling the bag and Leo put it into his tool belt where it vanished. No weight, mass, volume, but ready to be brought out at a moments notice. One of the many handy features that made his toolbelt the greatest thing ever, plus it could hold anything that fit into the pockets. Too bad it couldn't hold a bazooka or something similar.

He stood up and scanned the beach. Bleach white dunes, roiling blankets of grass, and boulders crusted with salt like frosting. He also noticed they're friends had apparently vanished.

"Where did the others..."

"Hey guys." That question was answered when the two lifted out of his shadow this time, but now they both looked angry for some reason. "We found something that way." Tobias pointed into the trees.

"But we need to find the bronze..."

"That way and about five hundred yards inland." Hazel answered, also pointing the same way. Leo looked at her and she blushed slightly in embarrassment. "Precious metals. It's a Pluto thing."

Well, that would explain how gold was easy. "Neat. Lead the way Miss Metal Detector."

* * *

The sun started setting as they walked, turning the sky a blizzard and amazing mix of purple and yellow. In another reality, he'd enjoy walking with a pretty girl on the beach, but they were also accompanied by two upset looking teens and he was feeling edgier as time went on. Hazel turned inland and kept leading the way.

"We're close." Tobias and Hazel said at the same time. She looked at the dark haired teen in surprise. "You can feel it?"

"No, but knowing the bronze is close is good to know. No, what we found is right over this dune." He said, his face hardening while Yahan scowled.

They crested it to spot what they found earlier. A woman, sitting on a boulder in the middle of a grassy field. There was a black and chrome motorcycle was parked close by but both wheels had a large pie slice missing so they resembled two Pac-Mans. Leo very much doubted the bike was drivable like that.

The woman herself had her head down so her face wasn't seeable, but she had black curly hair and a bony frame. Her clothes consisted of black leather bikers pants, tall leather boots, and a blooded leather jacket. Something like a _Michael Jackson joins the Hell's Angels _look. She had broken shells littering the ground around her feet. Was she shucking oysters? Leo didn't think there were oysters in the Great Salt Lake but she kept pulling more of whatever she was shucking from a sack next to her and cracking them open.

He didn't want to approach her. His experiences with strange ladies weren't exactly the best. His old babysitter Tìa Callida had turned out to be Hera, and she had had a nasty habit of putting him down for nap a in a blazing fireplace. Gaea had killed his mother in a workshop fire when he was eight, and let's not forget the snow goddess Khione, who had attempted to turn him into a frozen dairy treat in Sonoma. Plus he noticed Tobias and Yahan's faces turn darker at the sight of her. But they all went forwards so he had no choice but to follow.

Leo noticed more disturbing details as they got closer. A curled whip attached to the woman's belt. A subtle design on her jacket which showed he twisted branches of an apple tree, populated with skeletal birds. And the oysters she was shucking were, weirdly enough, fortune cookies.

The broken ones around her feet were ankle deep. She kept pulling more from her sack, cracking them open and then reading the slips of paper inside. Most she tossed aside, some made mutter unhappily. She would swipe her finger over the paper like she wanted to smudge the ink before magically resealing the cookies and tossing them into a nearby basket.

"What are you doing?" He couldn't stop himself from asking. The woman looked up and his lungs filled so fast they almost burst. "Aunt Rosa?"

That didn't make any sense but she looked exactly like his aunt! The same broad nose with a mole on one side, the sour mouth and hard eyes. But his aunt would never wear clothes like that and as far as he knew, she was still down in Houston. She wouldn't be in the middle of the Great Salt Lake breaking open fortune cookies.

"Is that who you see?" The woman asked. "Interesting. And who do you see, Hazel, dear?

Hazel stepped back looking alarmed. "How did you-? You look like Mrs. Leer, my third grade teacher. I hated you!"

The cackle that escaped the woman's throat sounded happy, like a wicked witch that had cursed somebody. "Excellent. You resented her didn't you? She judged you unfairly?"

"You-_she _taped my hands to the desk for misbehaving. She called my mother a witch and blamed me for everything I didn't do and...no. She has to be dead. Who are you?"

"I know who she is." Tobias growled out. Leo hadn't noticed but Tobias's hands were clenched tight enough that the knuckles turned white. His fists were shaking and he could almost feel the hate boiling off him. Yahan looked angry but not nearly that angry. "Leo, Hazel. This is Nemesis, the goddess of revenge."

"Very good." The goddess complimented before cracking open another cookie. She wrinkled her nose as she read it out loud. "_You will have great fortune when you least expect it._ Now that is exactly the sort of nonsense I hate. Someone opens a cookie and suddenly they have a prophecy that they'll be rich! I blame Tyche, always dispensing good luck to those who don't deserve it."

Leo looked down at all the broken cookies. "Uh, you do know those aren't real prophecies right? They're just..."

"Leo." Tobias interrupted him. "Don't bother."

"You see? _He _understands why I hate this kind of thing." Nemesis flicked a finger across the paper, changing the letters to red. "_You will die painfully when you most expect it._ There, much better!"

"That's horrible!" Hazel said. "You'd let someone read that and it would come true?"

The sneer that crossed the goddess face looked even more creepy on Aunt Rosa's face. "My dear Hazel, haven't you ever wished horrible things on Mrs. Leer for the way she treated you?"

"That doesn't mean I wanted them to come true!"

"Bah." The goddess revealed the cookie and tossed it into the basket. "Tyche would be Fortuna to you, I suppose, being Roman. Me? I am called..."

"Nemesis in both Greek and Roman. You do not change because revenge is universal." Tobias interrupted. The goddess looked up and examined him in interest.

"I sensed your arrival and the two you brought with you. The only thing I don't know is what it is you two see."

"A Silence." Tobias said simply. Leo didn't know why the guy apparently had such a grudge with quite but the way he had said that, it made like silence was a living thing instead of a situation.

"Karasuba." Yahan said, her hand flexing like she was wishing she had her dagger on her hip.

"Hhmm. Fascinating. You three will be worth watching." She cracked open another cookie.

"Forgive me ma'am, but why are you cracking open fortune cookies in the middle of the Salt Lake instead of doing something else?" Tobias requested politely. Leo would've sworn he had experience in handling gods with how he had asked that question. Respectful yet curious and a bit confused.

"Lucky numbers. That's not even a proper fortune!" She crushed the cookie and scattered the pieces around her feet. "To answer your question Tobias...Song, was it?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Odd name, but I've heard worse. In any case, to answer your question, the gods are in terrible shape. It always happens when a civil war breaks out between the Greeks and Romans. The Olympians are called on by both sides, torn between their two natures. They become quite schizophrenic I'm afraid, what with splitting headaches and disorientation."

"But we're not a war," Leo insisted.

"Um, Leo..." Hazel winced. "You did kind of blow up large sections of New Rome."

"Not on purpose!" Whose side was she on?

"We know that Leo, but the Romans don't. And their pride will force them to pursue us in retaliation."

Nemesis cackled. "Listen to your friend Leo. He knows like I do that war is coming, which Gaea has seen to with your help. And can you guess whom the gods blame for their predicament?"

"Me." Leo's mouth tasted like calcium carbonate.

"No Leo." Tobias shook his head. "I don't mean to sound harsh but you're just a small pawn on the chessboard. They'll blame the being who started this entire game in the first place."

"Quite." Nemesis agreed. "The gods blame Hera for this foolish quest to bring you Greeks and Romans together-or Juno if you prefer! The queen of the heavens has fled Olympus to escape the wrath of her family. Don't expect any more help from your patron."

Leo's head throbbed in time with his heart. His feelings on the queen of gods were mixed. On one hand she had meddled in his life since he was a baby to serve her purpose in this giant prophecy, but she had been on their side, more or less. But if she was out of the picture...

"So why are you here?" He asked.

"To offer _my_ help of course." The goddess grinned wickedly.

He glanced at the others. Hazel looked like she had been offered a free snake, Yahan looked confused, Tobias looked like he had calmed down and like he had caught on to what she was talking about.

"Your help."

"Nemesis is not only the goddess of revenge, but also the goddess of balance Leo." Tobias spoke like he was explaining this to a child. "She enjoys tearing down the proud and powerful that deserve to be teared down."

"And there are none who deserve to be torn down more than Gaea and her giants. But I must warn you that I will not suffer undeserved success. Good luck is a scam and the wheel of fortune is a Ponzi scheme. True success requires sacrifice."

"Sacrifice?" Hazel asked tightly. "I lost my mother. I died and came back from the Underworld. Now my brother is missing. Isn't that enough sacrifice for you?"

Leo could completely relate. He wanted to scream he had lost his mother too. He had lost his gratin Festus, almost killed himself trying to finish _ArgoII_. Now he had fired on New Rome, most likely started a war and maybe lost the trust of his friends. His life was nothing but a chain reaction of sacrifice and loss.

"Right now," he tried to keep his anger from his voice and under control. "All I want is some Celestial bronze."

"Oh that's easy." Nemesis said carelessly. "It's just over the rise. You'll find it with the sweethearts."

"The what?" Yahan said, confusion clear in her face and tone.

The goddess popped a cookie into her mouth and swelled it, fortune and all. "You'll see. Perhaps they'll teach you a lesson, Hazel Levesque. Most heros cannot change their nature, even when given a second chance at life."

"Forgive ma'am, but I don't believe that." Tobias said firmly. "I did when I was younger but experience has shown me that anyone can change their nature with the right encouragement and help." Nemesis spared him a look again. Leo got the feeling that he kept surprising her with what he said.

"Speaking of your brother Nico," she addressed Hazel again. "You don't have much time. Let's see, it's...June twenty-fifth? Yes, after today, six more days. Then he dies, along with the entire city of Rome."

Hazel's eyes widened. "How...what-?"

"And as for you, child of fire." She looked at Leo. "Your worst hardships are yet to come. You will always be the outsider, the seventh wheel. You will not find a place among your brethren and soon you will face a problem you cannot solve. But I can help you, for a price."

Leo smelled smoke before realizing his left hands fingers were ablaze and Hazel was staring at them in terror. Before he could stuff them into his pocket, Tobias lifted and flicked his right hand, the flames dying as he did. The same cold feeling from before when this had happened accompanied it.

"I like to solve my own problems."

"Very well." Nemesis brushed off her jacket of cookie dust.

"But, um, what sort of price are we talking about?"

"One of her children, by the name of Ethan Nakamura, gave his eye for the ability to make a real difference in the world. Didn't he ma'am?" Tobias asked the goddess who looked surprised for the first time as she examined him.

"Yes, yes he did."

Leo's stomach churned in disgust. "You...want an eye?"

Nemesis got her wits back and looked at him. "In your case, perhaps another sacrifice will do. But it will be just as painful. Here." She handed him a unbroken fortune cookie. "If you need an answer, break this and it will solve your problem."

"What problem?" Leo asked as the hand holding the cookie trembled.

"You will know when the time comes."

"Take the cookie Leo. Just don't use it if you don't want to." Tobias advised as he opened his mouth. It didn't matter anyways, his hand pocketed the cookie in his toolbelt like it had a mind of its own. "Is that all?" He asked Nemesis.

She picked another cookie from her bag and cracked it open. _"You will have to reconsider your choices soon._ Oh I like this one, no need to change it." She reseated the cookie and tossed it into the basket. "Very few gods will be able to help you on your quest. Most are already incapacitated and it will only grow worse as the confusion grows."

"But there is one thing that might heal the rift." Tobias just seemed to know what to throw in when she paused.

"Ah, that would be sweet. The scales finally balanced and the old wrong avenged at long last."

"I have no idea what you two are talking about." Hazel muttered. "Or why my brother Nico only has six days to life. Or why Rome is going to be destroyed."

"It's all tied together Hazel Levesque." The goddess assured her. "As for my offer Leo Valdez, give it some thought. You're a good child, a good worker. We could do business. But before I go, two things. You should visit the reflecting pool before the light fades, since my poor cursed boy gets quite...agitated when darkness comes." Leo did not like the sound of that.

"And you..." She looked at Tobias who calmly looked back. "I don't know where you and your friends come from, but you've piqued my interest. Yet I sense a purpose for you coming here. Why?"

All eyes went to the teen who simply smiled hands bowed his head. "To balance the scales. I'm sure you of all people can understand that, Lady Nemesis." He said respectfully. The goddess tilted her head.

"Indeed I can. I look forwards to seeing how you will do this, Tobias Song." Her peace said, the goddess picked up her sack and threw it over her shoulder before climbing on her motorcycle. Apparently Leo was wrong and it was drivable despite the wheels because she revved her engine and vanished in a mushroom cloud of black smoke.

Yahan bent down and picked up a crumpled piece of paper that was still there, despite the fact that all the other broken cookies and fortunes had vanished. She read out loud, "_you will see yourself reflected, and you will have reason to despair._"

"Great." Leo grumbled. "Let's go see what that means.

**A/N: And cut. Well, not much to say about this chapter, I'm just getting the ball rolling. So, review and let me know what you think.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/n: I own nothing except my OC**

_**Leo**_

"Who is Aunt Rosa?" Hazel asked.

Leo really didn't want to talked about her. The words Nemesis had spoken were still buzzing in his ears, taunting him. His toolbelt seemed heavier since he put the fortune cookie in its pockets, but that was impossible. It could carry anything without adding extra weight, even the most fragile, breakable things. Still, he imagined that he could feel it like a rock in his pocket, weighting him down while waiting to be broken open.

"Long story," Leo responded. "She abandoned me after my mom died and gave me to foster care."

"That's harsh." Yahan spoke up. Leo looked back at their two companions. Since they had left the spot where they had met the goddess, they had hung back a bit, giving Leo and Hazel space. Maybe to talk, he didn't know, but he did notice that Tobias had turned introspective, looking at the ground with a thoughtful and even slightly confused looked on his face as they walked. He and Yahan were also holding hands, which sparked a slight jealousy in Leo's heart before it went out.

"I'm over it now," Leo said, even if he wasn't. "By the way, who is Karasuba?" The name sounded weird to him, like maybe it was a Latin word or the name of a god.

Yahan's face tightened. "Someone I hope to never see again." She said tightly. Tobias rubbed his thumb on the back of her hand gently. That seemed to calm her down a bit and she sighed. "Since we seem to be playing twenty questions, what did Nemesis mean about your brother Nico?" She addressed Hazel.

The girl blinked like she had gotten salt in her eyes. "Nico...he found me down in the Underworld, in the Fields of Asphodel. He brought me back to the mortal world and convinced the Romans at Camp Jupiter to accept me. I owe him for my second chance at life."

"So Nico is a demigod?"

"He's the son of Hades, the Greek aspect of the god of the Underworld." Tobias explained, seemingly coming out of his inspection. "So yeah, he and Hazel are half siblings. Still, from what I've heard Nico is...odd."

"What do you mean by that?" Hazel asked, sounding slightly offended for some reason.

"It's nothing against you or him," Tobias responded quickly. "But Nico has always been a bit of a loner from what I've heard. He doesn't stay in one place for a long time, doesn't really open up to anyone. You might actually be interested in him." He said the last sentence to Yahan. "He can shadow travel too."

"Really?" The girl did look interested.

"Yeah."

"Ok, moving on." Leo felt they had more pressing matters than discussing shadow related abilities. "Did you understand anything Nemesis said? About Nico dying or Rome being destroyed in six days?"

Tobias shook his head. "Nothing solid. I have some ideas, but nothing else. I think that she wants us to work it out on our own?"

"How did you stay respectful around her anyways? I felt like punching something every time I looked at her." Leo asked.

"So did I. Then I remember that I'm not looking at the thing I hate most, I'm looking at a goddess who just looks like what I hate most and who is just doing what she does." Tobias shrugged. "I can't blame her for doing what she does."

Leo thought. That made sense. He couldn't blame a machine for doing what it was built to do, and he couldn't blame himself for building what he built. Everything he made was made with a purpose and if it didn't fulfill that purpose, then what good was it? "That's...surprisingly insightful." He admitted.

"I try to keep an open mind," Tobias smiled ruefully. "It doesn't always work, but sometimes it does." They walked in silence for a few seconds before the silver eyed teen broke it again. "How much farther to the bronze Hazel?"

"A few hundred feet." She answered instantly, like she had been waiting for someone to ask. Then she hesitated before saying, "Hey, Tobias?"

"Yes?"

"Where did you and your friends come from?" Everyone looked at him, stopping for a second so they could. Leo had to admit, he was curious on where they had come from, and how they had arrived. He had seen the sparking and reaching electrical tendrils followed by the flash of light, but nothing he knew of did that. Plus that leather on his wrist with the number pad and small screen...Leo had a sense of machinery and how complicated it was, but looking at that piece of metal had only made him confused. It was like his instincts couldn't even begin to understand it, which was really weird to him.

"Someplace complicated." He and Yahan both snorted with amusement before he elaborated. "And very, very far away. But let's talk after we find the bronze and this cursed boy Nemesis mentioned."

"Cursed boy Nemesis mentioned." A voice echoed the words behind Leo. Everyone looked ahead for the source of the voice. At first Leo didn't see anything. Then his eyes adjusted and he spotted a younger woman, ten feet away from them.

Her dress was a Greek-style tunic that was the same colors as the dead grass around them, plus the trees leaves and bark. Her hair blended in with the dead grass near the bottom, with the colors brown, gray and blonde matching the color scheme perfectly. Up near the top it blended in with the darker brown of the bark and light green of the leaves. She wasn't invisible, but she was almost perfectly camouflaged until she moved, but even then Leo had trouble focusing on her. Her face was pretty but not memorable. Actually when Leo blinked he forgot what she looked like and had to concentrate in order to find her again.

Hazel took the first action. "Hello, who are you?"

"Who are you?" Was the answer she got from the girl. She sounded weary, like she was tired of asking that question. Leo and Hazel shared looks. In the demigod business, you never knew what you'd run into, but nine times out of ten, it was bad and wanted to kill you. A ninja girl who was camouflaged in earth and nature tones didn't strike Leo as something he wanted to deal with.

"Hello." Tobias said politely while also walking forwards, stopping when he was five feet from the girl. "My name is Tobias and these are my friends. What's your name?"

"What's you name?" The girl repeated.

"Ok. Um, do you live near here?"

"Near here." She nodded, her dressed and hair changing to match the background as she moved.

"She's repeating everything you..." Leo trailed off as a bell went off in his head. "Oh, wait a minute. Wasn't there a myth about a girl who repeated everything-?"

"Echo," Hazel said, the myth coming back to her.

"Echo." The girl agreed. Her eyes were the color of salt water, but that was all Leo could tell about her features. Whenever he tried to his eyes just slide right off her.

"This is weird." Yahan moved besides Tobias, looking fascinated. "It's like she has a perception filter on her."

"Perception filter?" Leo and Echo...well, echoed, both sounding confused.

"Long story, but you're right, it is like that." Tobias responses before bowing his head slightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you Echo." Echo bowed her head in response.

"So what's her story?" Yahan asked Hazel.

"I don't remember all the details, but...Echo was cursed by a goddess to repeat the last thing she heard."

Leo scratched his head. "But wasn't that thousands of years...oh. You're one of the mortals who came back through the Doors of Death. I really wish we'd stop running into dead people."

"Dead people." Echo said it like she was chastising him while Tobias shot him a sharp look. Leo then realized Hazel was looking at her feet.

"Uh, sorry. I didn't mean it that way."

"That way." Echo pointed towards the far shore of the island, where they had been walking towards.

"You want to show us something?" Yahan asked, looking into the distance. Now that it was clear she wasn't hostile, they all approached until they were in a small group three feet away from Echo. Even up close, Leo struggled to see her. She seemed to blend into the background even more the longer he stared at her.

"Are you sure you're real?" He asked, "I mean...flesh and blood?"

"Flesh and blood." She touched Leo's face and made him flinch. Her fingers were warm.

"So...you have to repeat everything?" He asked.

"Everything."

He couldn't help the smile that creeped across his face. "That could be fun."

"Fun." She said unhappily.

"Blue elephants."

"Blue elephants."

"Kiss me, you fool."

"You fool."

"Hey!"

"Hey!"

"Leo!" Tobias lightly smacked the back of the mechanics head, making him wince and rub the spot. "You'll have to forgive him, he gets carried away sometimes." The silver eyed teen explained to the girl, sound apologetic.

"Sorry." He said, feeling a bit bad now but he couldn't help him. It wasn't every day he ran into someone with a built-in talkback feature. "So what were you pointing at? Did you need help with something?"

"Help with something." Echo agreed. She gestured for them to follow and sprinted in the direction. Leo could only follow her by the movement of the grass and the shimmer of her dress as it changed to match the grass.

"Let's go or we'll lose her." Tobias grabbed Yahan's hand and both took off, leaving the two demigods to run after them and Echo.

* * *

They found the problem, if you called a mob of good looking girls a problem. Echo had led them down into a meadow that was shaped like a blast crater, with a small pond in the center. Gathered at the water's edge were several dozen girls that looked around teenager age, with gossamer dresses, bare feet, elfish features, and skin with a slightly green tinge to it.

"What are they?" Yahan asked as she took them in.

"Nymphs, nature spirits." Tobias answered, scanning at the crowd. "Each one is the spirit of something in nature, like a tree, a rock, a stream or river, a cloud, anything."

Leo filed away Tobias's knowledge of nature spirits for another time as he watched them. He didn't understand what they were doing, but they were all crowded together in one spot, facing the pond and jostling for a better view. Several of them were holding up camera phones, trying to get a shot of whatever they were looking at over the heads of the others, which was weird because Leo had never seen nymphs with phones before. Were they maybe looking at dead body? If so, why were they bouncing up and down while giggling excitedly.

"What are they looking at?" Leo asked Echo.

"Looking at," she sighed.

"There's somebody in the center, with about two and a half feet of open space around them." Leo had no clue how Tobias knew that, but he looked pretty certain. He squared his shoulders and walked to the crowd, Yahan following right behind him. They started nudging his way through. "Excuse me, pardon me."

"Hey!" One nymph complained. "We were here first!"

"Yeah," another one sniffed as she looked at Yahan. "He won't be interested in you."

The dark skinned girl shot her a withering look. The nymph that had spoken that sentence had large red hearts painted on her cheeks. Over her dress was a T-shirt that read: OMG, I 3 N!

"Uh, demigod business." Leo said, trying to sound official and important. "Make room. Thanks."

The nature spirits grumbled, but they parted to show Tobias been right. There was a young man kneeling at the ponds edge with two and a half feet of space around him as he gazed into the water intently.

Now Leo didn't normally pay much attention to how other guys looked. He guessed that came from hanging around Jason- tall, blond, rugged, basically everything Leo could never be. He was used to not being noticed by girls for his looks, but he hoped someday his personality and sense of humor would do that for him. So far, that hadn't worked. Yet.

But even Leo couldn't miss the fact that the guy at the pond was a super good-looking dude. He had a chiseled face with lips and eyes that were somewhere between feminine beautiful and masculine handsome. Dark hair swept back over his brow. His age was impossible to tell-he could've been seventeen or twenty- but he was built like a dancer, with long graceful arms and muscular legs, perfect posture, and an air of regal calm. His clothes consisted of a skills white T-shirt and jeans, with a bow and arrow strapped to his back. The weapons hadn't been used in a while apparently, since the arrows were coated in dust and a spider had woven a web in the top of the bow. As Leo edged closer for a better look, he realized the guys face was unusually golden.

In the sunset, the light was bouncing off a large, flat sheet of Celestial bronze that lay on the bottom of the pond, washing Mr. Handsome's features in a warm glow. The guy seemed to be fascinated by the reflection of his face in the metal.

Hazel inhaled sharply while Yahan whistled, apparently impressed. "He's gorgeous." They chorused.

Around her, the nymphs squealed and clapped in agreement while Tobias melodramatically grabbed his heart, acting like he had just been dealt a fatal blow.

"Now that hurt Yahan." He said in a mock hurt voice. She giggled.

"I said he was gorgeous, I didn't say he was you." She teased, which made some of the nymphs scowl slightly before they were once again looking at the handsome guy and smiling giddily.

"I am," the young man murmured dreamily, his gaze still fixed on the water. He didn't seem upset by the last comment Yahan had made or maybe he just hadn't heard it. "I am so gorgeous."

One of the nymphs showed her iPhone screen. "His latest YouTube video got a million hits in like, an hour. I think I was half of those!" The other nymphs giggled.

Leo was drawn out of his thought process of what the hell Yahan and Tobias's relationship was if they made jokes like that by the nymphs sentence. "YouTube video? What does he do in the video, sing?"

"No, silly!" The nymph chilled. "He used to be a prince, and a wonderful hunter and stuff. But that doesn't matter, now he just...well, look!" She showed them the video and it was exactly what they were seeing right now, the guy looking at himself in the pond. Leo glanced at the time for the video and it was clocked at over two hours long.

"Two hours of this?" Yahan asked, sounding confused now.

"He is sooooo hot!" Another nymph squealed. Her T-shirt read: _Mrs. Narcissus._

"Narcissus?" Leo asked.

"Narcissus," Echo agreed sadly. Leo had forgotten she was there. Apparently none of the other nymphs had noticed her either.

"Oh, not you again!" Mrs. Narcissus tried to push Echo away, but she misjudged where the camouflaged girl was and ended up shoving several other nymphs.

"You had your chance, Echo!" The nymph with the iPhone said. "He dumped you four thousand years ago! You are so not good enough for him!"

"For him," Echo repeated bitterly. Yahan was starting to lose the look of being impressed with Narcissus and was now gaining the look of being slightly sickened with this scene, like she sensed there was something very wrong here. Tobias looked like he wanted to gag.

"Wait." Hazel clearly had trouble tearing her eyes away from the handsome guy but she managed. "What's going on? Why did Echo bring us here?"

One nymph rolled her eyes, holding a autograph pen and a crumpled poster of Narcissus. "Echo was a nymph like us, a long time ago, but she was a total chatterbox! Gossiping, blah, blah, blah, all the time."

"I know!" another nymph screeched, which made Leo's ears start ringing from the volume. "Like, who could stand that? Just the other day, I told Cleopeia, that nymph that lives in the boulder next to me, I said: stop gossiping or you'll end up like Echo. She is such a big mouth! Did you hear what she said about the cloud nymph and the satyr?"

"Totally!" The nymph with the poster agreed. "So anyway, as punishment for blabbing, Hera cursed Echo so she could only repeat things, which was fine with us! But then Echo fell in love with our gorgeous guy, Narcissus, as if he would notice her.

"As if!" This was repeated by half a dozen other nymphs.

"Now she' shot some weird idea that he needs saving," Mrs. Narcissus said. "She should just go away."

"Go away," Echo growled back.

"That might not be a bad a idea." Yahan muttered as the nymphs started arguing why Narcissus was in this territory while he just ignored them to stare at himself. "This is nuts."

"This is what happenes with fan girls." Tobias said, shaking his head. "And you said I was over exaggerating when I said they were _the_ most terrifying thing in the universe."

"Fine, you were right, happy?"

"Not at the moment, no."

"Hold it!" Leo shouted about the noise. "Ladies, hold it! I need to ask Narcissus something." They slowly settled down and went back to taking pictures and videos.

"It's going to be an absolute waste of time you know. This is the guy that we got our entire concept of narcissism from." Tobias whispered to Leo, not wanting the nymphs to hear his rather unflattering opinion on the guy and go feral. He had seen it happen before, and it was never pretty.

"Got to try at least." Leo replied before going to kneel next to the handsome dude. Having nothing better, he went for a default greeting. "So, Narcissus. What's up?"

"Can you move?" Narcissus asked distractedly. "You're ruining the view."

Leo looked into the water, his reflection looking back next to Narcissus, but he had no desire to stare at himself. Compared to the guy next to him, he looked like a undergrown troll. But the thing that had Leo's interest was the bronze itself, which was hammered, roughly circular, and five feet in diameter. He wasn't sure what it was doing in the pond, but he heard that Celestial bronze fell to the earth in all sorts of odd places. The stories went that his dad Hephaestus got angry when his projects didn't work out like he wanted them to and would throw the scraps into the mortal world when he lost his temper. This looked like it had supposed to be a shield for a god, but it hadn't turned out properly. If he could get this back to the ship, it would be just enough bronze to repair the Argo.

"Right, great view." Leo said. "Happy to move, but if you're not using it, can is just take that sheet of bronze.

"No," Narcissus said. "I love him. He's so gorgeous."

Leo looked around. He figured this had to be a massive joke but the nymphs were all swooning and nodding in agreement. The only people acting differently was their group, with Tobias miming vomiting, Yahan looking shocked and disgusted, and Hazel scrunching up her nose like she realized Narcissus smelled a lot worse then he looked. Of course, nobody except him noticed this because everyone else was staring at a dude staring at himself in the water.

"Man, you do realize you're looking at yourself in the water, right?"

"I am so great," the former hunter sighed. He reached out a hand longingly to touch the water, but held back at the last second. "No, I can't make ripples. That ruins the image. Wow...I am so great."

"Leo, we need a new plan." Tobias whispered to him, kneeling down so he was the same level and covering his lips so no one could lip read. "This idiot isn't going to give up that bronze willingly."

"Maybe if tell him what happened to him..." Leo did the same as Tobias.

"He'd say he's too important to die." Tobias cut him off. "You don't get it, this guy literally thinks he's the center of the universe, that he can never ever die because he's too important. If you offered him a choice between leaving here and living his life or staying here until he dies again, he'll stay here. Let's try to think of something different."

Leo didn't like giving up on a problem(it was a mechanic thing) but looking at Narcissus, he could tell this was making zero impact. The guy might as well be a statue. A living, breathing, really handsome statue, but a statue all the same.

"Ok." They stood up and walked away while gesturing at the others to follow them. They kept moving until they were out of earshot of the nymphs, who had crowded around Narcissus to take more videos and pictures

"I feel like I might puke." Yahan warned. "How can they love him!?" She waved at the small crowd in disgust. "He's so full of himself."

"Now you see where we got the idea of narcissism from. Do me a favor and just kill me if by some miracle I turn into him." Tobias requested.

"Gladly."

"Can we focus please?" Hazel said. "What are we going to do? Nemesis was right, even with a second chance at life, Narcissus is just going to stay there until he dies again."

Leo tapped his chin in thought. "If we take away that bronze, Mr. Handsome might snap out of it. We'd get that bronze and Echo could have a chance to save him."

"A chance to save him." Echo said gratefully.

"It would also make several dozen nymphs very angry with us." Tobias pointed out while looking at the sinking sun. "Plus he might still know how to shoot his bow."

Leo pondered that. The sun was almost down and he remembered what Nemesis had said, that Narcissus got agitated after dark. Probably because he couldn't see his reflection anymore, and Leo didn't want to see what a goddess considered agitated. Plus he had experiences with mobs of crazed nymphs and he didn't want a repeat.

"Hazel," an idea came to Leo. "You're power with precious metal- can you only sense it or can you summon it to you as well?"

She frowned. "I can sometimes summon it, but with a piece of bronze that big before. I might be able to draw it to me through the earth, but I'd have to be fairly close. Plus it'd take a lot of concentration and it wouldn't be fast."

"Be fast." Echo warned.

Leo cursed. He had hoped they could just go back to the ship and Hazel could teleport the bronze to them or something...wait a minute...

"Yahan, can you take things with you or just people?"

The girl frowned. "I can take people and things, but I've never tried it with an enchanted object before. I have no clue what would happen with that bronze."

OK maybe that idea wasn't going to work then. He didn't want one of their new friends (yes he realized he barely knew her or Tobias, but so far they had been pretty good so he'd call them friends until something proved they weren't) to get hurt, or anything else. So that left one unknown.

"Tobias, you have anything that can help here?" He was his last hope otherwise they'd have to go with a really really bad plan. The teen rubbed his chin, thinking.

"I've got a lot that could help, but I don't want to reveal my tricks unless there is absolutely no other choice. Gaea doesn't know anything important about me and I want to keep it that way as long as possible to keep her guessing."

"So nothing?" Damn it, they were going to have to go with that plan he had.

Tobias looked back at the crowd but he didn't see anyone looking over at them. He looked back at Leo. "I might have something so Hazel doesn't have to draw that bronze through the earth."

"Great, what?" Anything would be good at this point so long as it saved them time.

Tobias's eyes narrowed in concentration before Leo felt a breeze slowly push past him. But the weird thing was, looking at the girls hair shifting in the breeze, it seemed to come from all around them and focusing in the center of their circle. After a few seconds, the breeze stopped and Tobias nodded like he had done something.

"There."

"Um, not to be rude Tobias, but nothing happened." Hazel pointed out.

"Hang on a minute, I'll make it so you can see it." Another look of concentration and one of the weirdest things Leo had ever seen happened, and that was saying something. He didn't know how to describe it other than the air gained color. A misty white spread over the surface of something like milk across water until it stopped at the boundaries and started growing more concentrated. Now Leo was looking at a white, five fingered hand. It looked like any other hand,but it wasn't connected to anything and just floating in the air. As he watched, the thing lifted up before _waving _at him.

"What is _that_?" Hazels voice shout up an octave as she looked at the hand.

Tobias smirked. "This is one of my abilities. It's nothing creative, but it's called Air Hand."

"Air Hand? That was the best you could come up with?" Leo didn't know what he was expecting, but this...this was a new level of weirdness. Tobias frowned and the hand lifted up before flicking him in the forehead. Hard.

"Ow!" He rubbed the spot that hurt while trying to figure out how air could feel like skin and bone.

"Keep it up Leo, and I'll have this thing give you a black eye." Tobias warned. The hand then melted away into nothing.

Leo let the threat slide, because this might be helpful. "So you can make those things out of air?"

"Yes."

"Is there a range to how far they can go?"

He thought for a second, like he was considering what he should say. "My range is about five to six hundred yards, beyond that I can't do anything. Plus I need to be able to see what I'm doing for this to be effective."

Leo nodded. Ok, they'd still need to use his horrible plan, but now they could do it faster. "Ok then. I have a plan, but it's absolutely insane."

**A/N: Well, it's not much, but we're slowly making our way forwards. Tobias is slowly letting out his secrets (or for those who have read the profile about him, it's not a big surprise) and gaining the trust of Leo and Hazel. I hope you all enjoy the story so far, because there is still a long way to go. Also, I want to say, I will not be going through every single scene of the book and detailing it. Some will be the same as the book so I won't bother writing those, the only scenes I'll write is ones with changes to them. But I've got big plans and I hope to put them into motion soon. So, read, favorite, and review please.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I own nothing but my OC**

_**Leo**_

Leo psyched himself up for an extreme make over after explaining his plan. First he summoned some breath mints and a pair of welding goggles from his tool belt. They weren't exactly sunglasses, but they'd have to do. He rolled up the sleeves on his shirt, used some machine oil to grease back his hair, stuck a wrench in his back pocket for some unknown reason, then had Hazel draw a tattoo on his biceps with a marker that said _hot stuff _with a skull and cross bones.

"What in the world are you thinking?" She asked, looking pretty flustered.

"I try not think, it interfers with being insane. How do I look?" He asked, holding his arms out

"Leo, please don't take this the wrong way," Yahan said while hiding her smile behind her hand. "But you look terrible!" She burst out laughing, unable to stop herself.

"I think it's best if I keep my opinions to myself." Tobias smirked.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Leo grumbled. "Now what's the plan?"

Tobias sighed to get back his control. "You and Echo distract the nymphs and Mr. Full of Himself while I use my Air Hands to grab the bronze. Once I do, me, Yahan, and Hazel are to start running for the beach. And you and Echo start improvising."

"A lot." Yahan added.

"Yeah, thats pretty much it." Leo sighed. Great, now he was thinking when he was trying to be insane. "Echo, are you ready?"

"Ready." She said.

He took another breath to steady his nerves then started strutting back to the pond while Yahan grabbed Tobias's and Hazel's hands, then sinking into the shadows. Leo ignored them as he tried to look awesome, not like he had some sort of nervous affliction. "Leo is the coolest!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Leo is the coolest!" Echo shouted back.

"Yeah baby check me out!"

"Check me out!"

"Make way for the king!"

"The king!"

"Narcissus is weak!"

"Weak!"

The crowd of nymphs scattered in surprise. Leo shooed them away as if they were bothering him. "No autographs girls. I know you want some Leo time, but I'm way too cool. You better just hang around that ugly idiot Narcissus. He's lame!"

"Lame!" For someone who supposedly loved the guy, Echo said that with a lot of enthusasim. The nymphs, on the other hand, muttered angrily.

"What are you talking about?" One demanded.

"You're lame!" said another.

Leo adjusted his goggles and smiled, flexing his biceps despite the fact he didn't have much to flex so he could show off his _hot stuff _tattoo. He had the nymphs attention, but that was mostly because they were stunned. Narcissus on the other hand was still looking at his reflection. Thankfully, he had a lot of practice at annoying people.

"You know how ugly Narcissus is?" Leo asked the crowd. "He's so ugly, when he was born his mother though he was a backwards centaur- with a horse butt for a face."

Some of the nymphs gasped. Narcissus frowned, as though he was vaguely aware that a gnat was buzzing around his head.

"You know why his bows has cobwebs?" Leo kept going. "He uses it to hunt for dates, but he can't find one!"

One of the nymphs laughed but was quickly elbowed into silence by the others. By now the crowd had moved so they could look at him, their backs to the other side of the crater.

Narcissus turned and scowled at Leo. "Who _are _you?"

Leo noticed movement over Narcissus's head and spared a quick glance. Tobias and the others were standing near the rim of the crater while the teen had his hands raised in front of him. He also noticed two hands forming in mid-air ten feet above the group. Ok, plan was proceeding smoothly.

"I'm the Super-sized McShizzle, man!" Leo said, keeping their attention. "I'm Leo Valdez, bad boy supreme. And the ladies _love _a bad boy."

"Love a bad boy!" Echo said with a convincing fangirl squeal.

Leo took out a pen and autographed the arm of one of the nymphs. "Narcissus is a loser! He's so weak, he can't benchpress a Kleenex. He's so lame, when you look up lame on Wikipedia, it's got a picture of Narcissus- only the picture's _so_ ugly, no one ever checks it out."

Narcissus knitted his perfect eyebrows. His face was turning from bronze to salmon pink. For the moment he had forgotten the pond and Leo saw the hands Tobias was controlling sink into the water, grabbing the bronze at the edges. It lifted up out of the mud slowly as suction fought the pull.

"What are you talking about?" Narcissus demanded. "I am amazing! Everyone knows this!"

"Amazing at _pure suck_," Leo said. "If I was as _suck _as you as you, I'd drown myself. Oh wait, you already did that." Hazel had filled him in on how Narcissus had died in the myth before they had started.

Another nymph giggled, then another. The former prince growled angrily, which made him look a little less handsome. The shield had been pulled free of the mud and was now slowly lifting out of the water before floating towards the others, nobody noticing except him. Leo noted this out of the corner of his eye while beaming. He wiggled his eyebrows over his goggles and gesturerd for applause to keep their attention for a few more minutes.

"That's right, Team Leo for the win!"

"Team Leo for the win!" Echo shouted. She'd slipped into the mob of nymphs and thanks to her natural camouflage and the sheer number of nymphs, it was easy to make it look like the shout had come from one of them.

"Oh my god I am so awesome!" Leo bellowed. The bronze had reached the others, now it looked like they were running around the rim of the crater, the occasionally glint of gold coming from them as the shield caught the light. Leo figured they were heading back to the beach to wait for them, just like he told them to. They were moving surprisingly fast though, considering how big that thing was.

"So awesome!" Echo yelled back.

"He _is _funny." A nymph ventured.

"And cute, in a scrawny way." Another said.

"Scrawny?" Leo asked. Oh well, they had gotten the bronze. Now it was time to improvise, a lot. "Baby, I _invented _scrawny. Scrawny is the new _sizzling hot._ And I GOT the scrawny. Narcissus? He's such a loser even the Underworld didn't want him. He couldn't even get the ghost girls to date him."

"Eww," a nymph said, making a face.

"Eww!" Echo agreed.

"Stop!" Narcissus got to his feet, looking very anger. "This is not right? This person is obviously not awesome, so he must be..." He struggled to find the right words. It had probably been a long time since he had talked about something other then himself. "He must be tricking us."

Ok so Narcissus wasn't completely stupid. Realization dawned on his face and he looked at the pond. "The bronze mirror is gone! My reflection! Give me back to me!"

"Team Leo!" One the nymphs squeaked but the others had turned their attention back to Narcissus.

"_I'm_ the beautiful one!" Narcissus insisted. "He's stolen my mirror and I'm going to leave unless we get it back!"

The girls gasped before there was a loud shout of "HEY!" from the direction behind Leo. Everyone looked to see Tobias standing at the lip with the bronze in his right hand and over his head.

"You want the bronze back!? Come and get it, you outdated poser!" Tobias shouted before turning and running into the woods. Before Leo could wonder what the hell Tobias was doing, someone popped up in front of him, making him jump.

"Hey, let's go." Yahan said before putting a hand on his shoulder and smiling politely at the group in front of them. "So sorry, but we really must be going. Ta!" They both dropped into the shadows like a trap door had opened. Leo had the disorienting experience of dropping into complete darkness, unable to see anything at all. He then had the sense of moving to the side before light came back into being, making him wince at the sudden brightness. His eyes adjusted to show they had come out of the shadow of a tree, right next to Tobias and Hazel. He looked back to see they were at the lip of the crater again.

"What are you doing, I told you guys to go back to the ship!" He demanded, looking at Tobias.

"We're improvising." He said simply. "Now run!" He said when a crowd of angry nymphs crested over the edge of the crater, Narcissus at the head of it.

* * *

Leo could run pretty fast when someone was trying to kill him. Sadly, he'd had a lot of practice.

Their group was making good progress through the woods, running pretty fast considering Tobias was carrying a fifty pound piece of Celestial bronze, but he was holding it over his right shoulder like it was a backpack or something. Leo chanced a glance back to see Narcissus was nocking an arrow, but it was so old and brittle it broke into splinters.

"Ow!" He yelled attractively. "My manicure!"

"Please let me kill him." Yahan looked at Tobias when she heard that.

"Tempting, but no." Tobias said as he looked over his shoulder to check on the crowd.

"Oh come on, he's apparently supposed to be dead anyways!"

"Yahan, I said no!" Tobias lifted the shield to block a rock that had been thrown at his head by one of the nymphs. Normally nymphs were quick- at least the ones Leo had seen at Camp Half-Blood were- but these were burdened with posters,T-shirts, and other trademarked Narcissus merchandise. They also weren't working as a team for some reason, they kept pushing and shoving each other, and that caused others to stumble. Echo was making things worse by tackling and tripping as many as she could. Despite all that, they were gaining, foot by foot.

"Call Arion!" Leo told Hazel.

"Already did!" She responded.

They arrived at the beach in a few minutes and made it to the water edge. They could see the _Argo II, _but they had no way to get there. It was too far to swim even without the bronze and Leo didn't know what Yahan's limits for taking people with her was. Leo looked back to see the mob was coming over the dunes, Narcissus in the lead and holding his bow like a band major's baton. The nymphs had conjured assorted weapons. Some held rocks, others had wooden clubs wreathed in flowers, and a few held squirt guns. Those weren't quite as terrifying but the look in their eyes spelled a slow and painful death.

"Oh man, straight up fighting is not my thing." Leo muttered, summoning fire in both hands.

"Hazel, hold this." Tobias dropped the bronze in front of her before facing the crowd and cracking his knuckles. "Echo, duck!" He shouted before thrusting his palms forward. Echo, now racing ahead of the crowd, heeded the warning and slid like a baseball runner coming into home while Tobias thrust both hands forwards.

Leo had to cover his eyes as a fierce wind suddenly came out of nowhere, kicking up sand for a second before it raced past. He risked a look to see a miniature sandstorm kicking up sand into the eyes of the nymphs, blinding them.

"Echo, come on!" Tobias shouted before jerking his hands over his head, forcing the wind to go up and make a sand tornado. The camouflaged girl got up and ran towards them, covering her eyes until she was far enough from the winds. "Are you ok?"

"Ok." The girl gagged, spitting white lime from her mouth and shaking it from her hair. Figuring he had bought enough time, Tobias let the winds dissipate into nothing, showing the nymphs had been coated like white powder donuts. Narcissus was not looking very handsome right now as he was similarly coated.

"We need to leave, before they get over that." Tobias said, and right on cue, Arion race out of nowhere, coming from the right before stopping next to Hazel. "Hazel, your horse is incredible."

"I know." She grinned before climbing into the saddle and hoisting up the bronze. She held out a hand to Leo. "Hop on!"

"But what about Echo?" He asked, looking at the girl. Tobias looked at the girl and she looked back, seemingly having a silent conversation.

"She wants to stay." He said. The girl nodded.

"We can't leave her!" Leo protested.

"Leave her." The nymph repeated. She smiled and for the first time Leo could clearly make out her face. She was really pretty and her eyes were bluer than he had realized. How had he missed that?

"Why?" Leo asked. "You don't think you can still save Narcissus..."

"Save Narcissus." She said confidently. And even though it was only a echo, Leo could tell she meant it. She had been given a second chance at life and she was determined to use it to save the guy she loved, even if he was a completely hopeless, handsome moron. He wanted to protest but Echo went and gave him a kiss on the cheek before pushing him away gently.

"Leo, come on!" Hazel said urgently. The nymphs were starting to recover, brushing the time from their eyes that were glowing green with anger. Tobias tapped Echo's shoulder and bowed his head. "Thank you, for your help." She nodded, smiling again before making shooing motions with her hand. "Yahan..."

The dark skinned girl grabbed his hand and both disappeared into the shadows while Leo climbed into the saddle behind Hazel. He looked for Echo but the nymph had dissolved into the scenery again as Arion took off across the water, leaving behind screaming nymphs and Narcissus shouting, "Bring me back! Bring me back!"

As the horse raced towards his ship, Leo remembered something Nemesis had said about Echo and Narcissus: _Perhaps they'll teach you a lesson._ Leo had though she's meant Narcissus, but now he wondered if the real lesson was Echo's story- invisible to her brethren, cursed to love some who didn't care for her. _A seventh wheel_. He tried to shake that thought while holding the sheet of bronze like a shield.

He was determined to not forget Echo's face. She deserved at least one person who saw her and knew how good she was, but as he closed his eyes, the memory of her smile was already fading.

* * *

_**Piper**_

Piper didn't want to use the knife.

But sitting in Jason's cabin, waiting for him to wake up, she felt alone and helpless. His face was so pale, he might've been dead. She could still hear that awful sound of a brick hitting his forehead, an injury he had only gotten because he had been protecting her.

Even after they had forced-fed him nectar and ambrosia, she still wasn't sure he would be okay when he woke up. What if he lost his memories again, but this time his memories of _her?_

That would be the cruelest trick the gods had played on her yet and they had played some pretty cruel tricks. But she also had other things on her mind.

She could just barely hear Coach Hedge walking across the deck, his hooves making a thump every time they hit the wood, as he kept an eye on the woman Kazehana. That was a whole new bunch of trouble she had, sorting her impressions of their mysterious arrivals.

When she had first seen them, she had been shocked off course. Three people none of them knew had just appeared on the ship and then said they were here to help end the war with Gaea? Things were rarely that easy in the demigod world, but her charmspeak hadn't done anything. They had thrown it off easily and what the teen Tobias had said, how she was using it wrong, played on her secret fears. And those eyes of his... They had been something else hidden in them, something that made her suspect there was more to those three then they let on. Much more. Combined with the visions she saw in her dagger, she felt like she was drowning in fear and uncertainty.

Finally the temptation for a distraction was too great. She unsheathed her dagger Katoptris. It didn't look like much, just a triangular blade with a plain hilt, but it had once been owned by Helen of Troy. The daggers name meant "looking glass." Piper gazed at the bronze blade, her reflection staring back before light rippled across the metal. She saw a crowd of Roman demigods gathered in front of the forum. There was that blond, scarecrow- looking kid, Octavian, speaking to the mob as he shook his fist angrily. She couldn't hear his words, but the gist was pretty clear: _We need to kill those Greeks!_

Reyna, a dark haired and stone eyes girl and the Praetor of the camp, stood to one side with her face tight. She was suppressing her emotions, but were those emotions bitterness or anger? Piper couldn't tell. She had been fully prepared to hate Renya, but she couldn't. Piper admired the girl for how she had kept her emotions in check during the welcome feast at the forum. She had sized up the relationship between Piper and Jason instantly, which she could tell because she was a daughter of Aphrodite. Despite that, she had stayed polite and in control. She had put her emotions second and her camps needs first, giving the Greeks a fair chance...right up to the point the _Argo II _started destroying her city.

She wasn't so bad, but it didn't matter now. The chance for peace and cooperation between the camps had been ruined and her powers of persuasion had been useless.

_You have some good power Piper, using charmspeak to overpower somebody's will to make them do what you want. But you're using it all wrong_.

Those words Tobias had spoken earlier, while not exactly spoken the same way, still played on her fears. Maybe she hadn't used her power correctly, maybe it had made the Romans slightly resentful towards them for invading their home. Maybe the _Argo _firing on the city had just been a spark needed to ignite a powder keg _she_ had made.

Now Jason was hurt, their ship had almost been destroyed, and,a crossing to her dagger, that crazy teddy-bear-strangling kid Octavian was whipping the Romans into a war frenzy.

The scene in her blade shifted to a rapid series of images she had seen before, but still couldn't understand: Jason riding into battle on horseback, but his eyes were gold instead of blue; a woman dressed in a old-fashioned Southern belle dress, standing in a oceanside park with palm trees; a bull with the face of a bearded man, rising out of a river; and two giants in matching yellow togas, hoisting a rope on a pulley to lift a large bronze vase out of a pit.

She was expecting the worst vision to come next, but she was surprised when the knife didn't shift to that. Instead it showed other visions, ones she hadn't seen before but she recognized the people in them. It was their new arrivals.

She saw Tobias, fighting a group of armored Romans with his sword as the _Argo II _sailed away before turning and running down a coast lined with palm trees; next she saw the dark skinned girl, Yahan, and Tobias again, talking with her on the deck of the ship as it sailed under a night sky; the last vision she saw involving the new unknowns was all of them in the mess hall, Leo on the ground apparently unconscious while Tobias was clutching his head in pain before he seemed to look right at her, eyes burning gold like Jason's had in the earlier vision.

Finally the dagger arrived at the vision she had expected, which was by far the worst:she saw herself with Jason and Percy, standing waist deep in water at the bottom of a dark and circular chamber, like a giant well. She was clawing at the walls, trying to escape, but there was nowhere to go. The water reached their chests and Jason was pulled under, Percy stumbling and disappearing soon after.

How could a child of the sea god drown? Piper didn't know, but she watched herself in the vision, alone and thrashing in the dark until the water rose above her head. Piper shut her eyes.

_Don't show me that again,_ she pleaded. _Show me something helpful._

She forced herself to look at the blade again. This time she saw an empty highway cutting between fields of wheat and sunflowers. a mileage marker read: **Topeka 32.** On the shoulder of the road stood a man in khaki shorts and a purple camp shirt. His face was lost in the shadow of a broad hat, the brim wreathed in leafy vines. He held up a silver goblet and be minded to Piper, and she somehow knew he was offering a gift of some sort- a cure, or antidote.

"Hey," Jason croaked.

Piper was so startled she dropped her knife. "You're awake!"

"Don't sound so surprised." Jason touched his bandaged head and frowned. "What...what happened? I remember the explosions, and-"

"You remember who I am?"

Jason tried to laugh, but it turned into a painful wince. "Last I checked, you were my awesome girlfriend Piper. Unless something has changed since I was out?"

Piper let out a choked laugh that almost sounded like a sob because she was so relieved. She helped him sit up and gave him so nectar to sip while she brought him up to speed. She kept out the arrival of Kazehana, Yahan, and Tobias, figuring that was too much to start with. She was just explaining Leo's plan to fix the ship when she heard horse hooves clopping over their heads on deck.

"Coming through!" Moments later she saw Tobias running down the hall carrying a large circle of bronze, followed closely by Hazel and Leo, before they stumbled to a stop and Tobias backtracked.

"Gods of Olympus, what happened to you?" Piper asked seeing Leo. His hair was greased back. He had welding goggles on his forehead, a lipstick mark on his cheek, tattoos, and a T-shirt that read _hot stuff, bad boy, _and _Team Leo._

"You don't want to know." He said. "Other back yet?"

"Not yet." Piper said.

"Dang it!" Leo cursed. Then he noticed Jason sitting up and his face brightened. "Hey man! Glad you're better, I'll be in the engine room." He took the bronze from Tobias and ran off down the hall.

"And I need to do something about those nymphs. Nice to meet you Jason, Kazehana, I need your help with something!" Tobias ran the opposite way Leo had, leaving Hazel in the doorway.

"Um, who was that and whose Kazehana?" Jason asked, feeling like he had missed something.

"Long story." She said before raising an eyebrow at Hazel. "_Team Leo_?"

"We meet Narcissus," Hazel said, which didn't really explain much. "Plus Nemesis the revenge goddess, and Echo the nymph."

"I miss all the fun." Jason sighed.

On the deck above, something went _THUMP, _like something heavy had landed. Annabeth and Percy came running down the hall, the latter was toting a steaming five-gallon plastic bucket that smell horrible. Annabeth had a patch of black sticky stuff in her hair and aperçus shirt was covered in it.

"Roofing tar?" Piper asked.

Frank came stumbled up behind them, which made the hallway pretty jam-packed with demigods. Frank had a big smear of the black sludge down his face.

"Ran into some tar monsters." Annabeth said. "Hey, Jason, glad you're awake. Hazel, where's Leo?"

"Engine room." She replied, pointing down. Suddenly the entire ship listed to port. The demigods stumbled with Percy almost spilling his bucket of tar. They also heard a shout from the deck. "Damn it, go away, you are not getting that bronze back!" Tobias's voice was angry. "Kazehana, help me lift this thing, Yahan, please go get Percy!"

The entire ship jerked upwards which resulted in everyone stumbling again. A few seconds later the dark skinned girl named Yahan appeared in the hall. "Uh, Percy, we need your help on deck."

"Why, what happened?" He asked. "And why did the ship just jerk like that?"

"Oh yeah." Hazel looked embarrassed. "Uh, we might've angered the nymphs who live in this lake. Like, _all_ of them."

"As for the ship, Tobias and Kazehana are lifting it." Yahan explained.

"Yahan, need some help from Percy here! Hey, get off!" There was a thud that sounded like something slamming into the deck. "Agh, I hate angry nymphs!"

"Great." Percy handed the bucket of tar to Frank and Annabeth. "You guys help Leo, I'll go help them hold of the water spirits."

"On it!" Frank promised. The four of them ran off, leaving Hazel at the cabin door. The ship suddenly listed again before righting with a shout of "Percy, keep those nymphs away from me, please!" while Hazel grabbed her stomach like she was going to be sick.

"I'll just..." She swallowed, pointed weakly down the passageway and ran off. That left Jason and Piper alone and the son of Jupiter looked at his girlfriend.

"Who were those people?" Piper sighed. This was going to be complicated.

**A/N: Another chapter done. Just review, favorite, and I'll see you next time.**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Piper**_

Jason and Piper both stayed in his cabins, Piper explaining how Tobias and his friends had showed up while the sounds of battle came from the deck and the ship occasionally rocked. Piper heard the shouting of several people from the deck: Percy shouting, Coach apparently yelling at the water spirits that managed to board while Tobias kept being targeted for some reason and it sounded like whatever the nymphs were doing was annoying. She heard Festus the figurehead breath fire several times. Down the hall Hazel was moaning miserably in her cabin, and down in the engine room, it sounded like Leo and the others were doing a Irish tapdance with anvils. After what seemed like hours, the engine began to hum. The oars creaked and groaned before Piper felt the ship lifting up.

The shouting stopped and the ship became quite except for the drone of machinery. Finally Leo emerged from the engine room but he was caked in sweat, lime dust, and tar. His shirt looked like it had been caught in a escalator and chewed to shreads so the _Team Leo _on his chest now read _am Leo._ Despite all that, he was grinning like a mad man and announced that they were safely under way.

"Meeting in the mess hall, one hour." He said. "Crazy day huh?

* * *

It took a while but everyone was eventually gathered in the mess hall. Tobias had changed out of his clothes from earlier because apparently the nymphs had really gone after him by throwing mud, wet lime, and aquatic water plants at him since he had insulted "their Narcissus," so he had needed to shower. Now he was dressed in a plain black T-shirt, blue jeans, and a open black hoodie, which Piper noticed seemed to be his color. She had to admit it suited him. But in any case, Coach Hedge was at the helm while the demigods and their guests were gathered for dinner. It was also the first time the demigods of the Great Prophecy had all just sat down toghether. Maybe that should've been reassuring but it just reminded her that this was the start of everything. No more waiting for Leo to finish the ship, no more pretending the future was still a long way off. They were going to try to stop Gaea from rising, send her giants back to Tartarus, and travel to the ancient lands with a bunch of angry Romans on their tails. And if they didn't succeed, then the world would be destroyed.

But there was one other thing that was making her nervous.

"So, I believe you said you'd answer our questions earlier." Percy said while eating a piece of pie that for some reason was blue. Everything, the filling, crust, and whipped cream was blue. He was looking at Tobias and his friends on the opposite side of the table, sitting on...well nothing. She didn't get how that was possible, but they were all clearly sitting down on nothing but air, since they only had eight chairs. One for each of them and Coach Hedge.

"Yes I did." Tobias nodded. "So, everyone, ask away, and I'll answer the question if it's something I can answer, and I swear on the River Styx what I will say will be the truth." Rumble of thunder. Piper still couldn't see how the guy could make that kind of binding oath so easily. Or how he knew it.

"So where do you three come from?" Percy started with that.

"I won't give you all the details since we just arrived and you don't know us that well yet, but I will tell you that we all come from someplace very far away."

"How far?"

Tobias smirked. "Far."

"How did you know where to find our ship?" Annabeth asked, eyes stormy like normal. She was sitting at the head of the table but that was only because Percy and Jason had had a stand off for it before conceding it to her.

"I didn't actually, the coordinates were given to me by my..." He stopped and looked at Kazehana then Yahan. "What would you two call him, stepbrother?"

"Stepbrother sounds about right." Kazehana said, Yahan nodding in agreement.

"My stepbrother gave me. Don't worry, you weren't tracked or anything like that, Leo did the shielding properly."

Annabeth leaned back in her chair. "What's your stepbrothers name?"

"Dante, Dante Price."

Leo coughed as he his bit of pizza. After a few seconds, he manged to wheeze out, "You're stepbrothers last name is Price?"

"Make any jokes at his expense Leo, and I swear I will throw you off this boat." Tobias said seriously before smirking to show he was just kidding.

"No, no, no, no cracks at his expense, I promise." Leo waved his hands. "I was just wondering...didn't you say your last name was Song?"

"Yes." Tobias narrowed his eyes.

"Ok, just thinking you're family has some weird names."

Tobias thought for a minute before shrugging. "Can't argue with that. Next?" He asked.

"What's your realtionship with those two?" Piper asked her first question while nodding at Yahan and Kazehana.

"We're his girlfriends." Yahan decided to answer that question just as Percy and Jason were taking a drink of their sodas. The result was a hilarious spit take from both of them while Leo choked on his pizza again. Everyone had to settled with their jaws dropping and Tobias rubbing his eyes.

"Yahan, did you _have_ to say it like that?"

"What? They asked, I answered." She smiled innocently.

"How-" Leo coughed again from nearly choking to death twice. "How are both of you his girlfriend?!"

Piper would very much like to know the answer to that question as well. Mostly because she felt righteous anger at this boiling beneath the surface and a quick look at Annabeth showed her eyes has turned slightly black. Hazel on the other hand had turned cherry red.

"Before you guys get the wrong idea, that was not my idea at all," Tobias said, lowering his hand. "I didn't cheat on one with the other, or lie to them, or anything like that. Kazehana was actually the one who kissed me first and I didn't even know her at the time." He lifted a hand as Piper opened her mouth. "Just bear with me. So yeah, I ended up with her as a girlfriend by accident, then Yahan came along a couple months later and...well, let's just say I ended up with both of them as girlfriends for the time being."

Piper wondered how you end up with a girlfriend by accident, let alone how someone could have two. "Um, ok," she decided to just roll with it for the time being. "So...how long have you guys been toghether?"

"Kazehana I've been with for about..." He counted on his fingers. "Let's see, including the time we spent at Izuimo Inn and then at home before coming here...nine months, and with Yahan for seven."

"And you two are somehow ok with sharing him?" Piper asked the two in question. She didn't know how they were ok with that. She wouldn't even consider "sharing" Jason if it meant the end of the world.

"Yeah." Yahan shurrged.

"Ok, moving on from my relationships please, is there anything else you want to ask before we get down to more important business?" Tobias asked.

"Just two." Annabeth leaned forward. "How do you all have abilites if you aren't demigods?"

"Born with them." Was the instant and simultaneous from the trio. "And no we won't tell you how we were born with them, you'll have to wait to find that out." Tobias added.

"Fine." Piper could tell she didn't like that but Annabeth asked her second question. "How powerful are you?"

He tapped his chin in thought. "Well we're all about as strong as normal demigods physically, but we've got better endurance and reflexes. As for whose the strongest powers wise it'd be me, Kazehana, and Yahan, but that also varies depending."

"On what?"

"What's needed. But at our base levels, I'd agree with what Coach said earlier, right now we're about Big Three level." Piper could taste the tension in the room when he said that. There was silence for a few minutes.

"Leo, Hazel," Percy broke it by looking at them. "You've had the most experience with them so far, what're your thoughts?" They had been filled in on the events with Narcissus and the nymphs, now he was looking for a opinion from someone who had interacted with them and who he trusted.

Leo swallowed his mouthful of pizza. "Well, they were a big help when we getting that bronze, plus they seem all right...I _think_ we can trust them."

"I agree. They seem to be good people." Hazel nodded.

"Thank you Hazel, that means a lot." Tobias nodded gratefully, making the girl blush slightly. But everyone else calmed down like that put their nerves at ease. "So, on to the important business. Leo, how did the repairs go?"

"Well," the demigod said through another mouthful of pizza. "I did a quick repair job that'll hold up for now, but there's still a lot that needs to be taken care of. We're going to need to set down and fix everything before we head across the Atlantic."

"We're going to need to be fast too. I spotted some eagles over Salt Lake City. The Romans aren't that far behind us." Frank spoke up through his own food of spaghetti and tomato sauce."

The mood somehow turned darker when that was spoken, so Piper felt obligated to speak. And a bit guilty. "I don't suppose we should go back and try to reason with them? Maybe..."

"Bad idea." Tobias cut off. "Piper, what happened wasn't your fault, or Leo's. That entire situation was organized by Gaea to drive a wedge between the camps. And even if we tried to explain that to the Romans, we have no prove and no idea what really happened. Plus, while Renya might listen, Octavian will just whip the Romans into a war frenzy. They've been attacked, they'll have honor to think about."

"Sounds like they need to lighten up." Kazehana spoke up with a small smile. "Get out, live a little. Maybe leave the swords behind."

"That would be like saying we should leave our powers at home. Romans are very big on tradition and honor, it's what Rome was built on. No offense." Tobias added, looking at the Greek demigods.

Piper stared down at her own dinner. The magical plates could conjure up a excellent selection of vegetarian foods. She especially like the avocado and grilled pepper quesadilla, but she didn't have much of an appetite tonight. She kept seeing the visions in her knife: Jason with gold eyes; the two giants in yellow togas hoisting a bronze jar from a pit. And worst of all, the vision of herself drowning in black water with Jason and Percy.

She had always like water, it was involved with good memories of surfing with her dad. But since she had started seeing that vision in Katoptris, she'd been thinking more and more about an old Cherokee story her granddad used to tell her so she would stay away from the River near his cabin. He'd told her Cherokee's belived in good water spirits, like the naiads of the Greeks; but they also belived in evil water spirits, like the water cannibals, who hunted mortals with invisible arrows and were especially fond of drowning small children.

"You're right." She admitted. "We have to keep going, and not just because of the Romans. We have to hurry."

Hazel nodded. "Nemesis said we only have six days until Nico dies and Rome is destroyed."

Jason frowned. "You mean _Rome _Rome, not New Rome?"

"I think, but if so, that's not much time." Hazel said.

"That brings up some good questions though. Why six days, and how are they going to destroy Rome?" Percy wondered. No one answered and Piper didn't want to add further bad news, but she felt she had to.

"There's more," she said. "I've been seeing some things in my knife."

"Like your reflection?" Yahan asked, confused.

"I'm guessing something more serious then that." Tobias spoke up. "I'll explain later."

Piper wondered how he was going to do that but didn't put much thought into it. "They don't really make sense, just garbled images, but I saw two giants that were dressed alike. Maybe twins."

Annabeth stared at the magical video feed from Camp Half-Blood. Right now it was showing the living room in the Big House; a cozy fire on the hearth and Seymour, the stuff leopards head, snoring contently above the mantle.

"Twins, like in Ella's prophecy," Annabeth said. "If we can figure out those lines, it might help."

_"Wisdom's daughter walk alone, the Mark of Athena burns through Rome._" Percy recited. "Annabeth, that has to mean you. Juno told me...well, she said you'd have a hard path ahead of you in Rome. She doubted you could do it, but I know she's wrong."

"Awww, that's so cute." Kazehana sighed happily. She was ignored as Annabeth took a deep breath.

"Renya was about to tell me something right before the ship fired on us. She said there was an old legend among the Roman praetors- something that had to do with Athena. She said it might have to do with why Greeks and Romans can never get along.

Tobias, Hazel, and Leo shared nervous looks. Well Leo and Hazel were nervous, Tobias looked thoughtful.

"Nemesis said something similar," Leo said. "She talked about an old score that had to be settled-"

"The one thing that might bring the two sides of the gods into harmony. An old wrong, finally avenged." Tobias crossed his arms and frowned as he looked down. "Jason, do you have any ideas of what she meant?"

Jason held Piper's hand and she felt his fingers were clammy. "I...uh, I'm not sure." He said. "I'll have to give it some thought."

Percy narrowed his eyes. "You're not _sure_?"

Jason didn't respond. Piper wanted to ask what was wrong but he silently pleaded, _Later._ She wondered why this old legend disturbed him so much.

Hazel broke the silence. "What about the other lines? _Twins snuff out the angle's breath, who holds the key to endless death."_

"Sounds like the people who write these things need some new hobbies." Yahan muttered under her breath. "Even home wasn't this depressing and we were fighting for our lives in a city." She was largely ignored except for a nudge and look from Tobias.

_"Giants' bane stands gold and pale," _Frank added. _"Won through pain from a woven jail."_

"Well a giants bane can be good for us at the moment, right?" Leo asked. "And if it can help the gods get their schizophrenic act together, that's even better."

Percy nodded. "We can't kill the giants without the gods help."

"Why?" Kazehana added, looking around.

"Giants are different from regular immortals." Tobias explained. "Gods and Titans can't be killed, but they can fade to nothing when everything they stood for is gone, or be reduced in power to nearly nothing. Giants, on the other hand, can be killed by a hero or heros working alongside gods. But if that doesn't happen, then they'll never die."

"But I thought you guys killed that one giant in Alaska without a gods help," Jason looked at Frank and Hazel. "Just the two of you."

"Alcyoneus was a speical case," Frank said. "He was only immortal in the territory where he was reborn, Alaska, but not in Canada. And while I wish I could kill all the giants by dragging them across the boarder from Alaska into Canada..." He shrugged. "Percy's right, we'll need the gods."

Piper gazed at the walls. She wished Leo hadn't enchanted them with images of Camp Half-Blood, because it was making her home sick, like it was a door she could never go through. She watched the hearth of Hestia burning in the middle of the green as the cabins turned off their lights for curfew. She wondered hom Frank and Hazel, both Roman demigods, felt about those images since they had never been to their camp. Did it seem alien to them, or unfair that Camp Jupiter wasn't represented? Did they miss their own home?

He mind was turning over the lines of the prophecy, about a woven jail and how twins could snuff out an angel's breath when Tobias spoke up.

"Let's move on to less depressing stuff, the mood is severaly lacking right now. Leo, you said we still needed to repair the ship."

"Yeah, but we just need to set down in the morning. I have everything I'll need." He pushed his plate away and it magically cleaned itself so it looked like it hadn't been used.

"Someplace close to a city would still be good, in case we need some other supplies." Annabeth suggested. "But out of the way so the Romans don't find us. Any ideas?"

Nobody offered any suggestions. Piper remembered her vision in the knife; the strange man in purple, holding out a goblet and beckoning to her. She still remembered the sign he had been standing in front of, reading **Topeka 32. **She started to speak up, noticing that Tobias seemed to be looking at her expectantly.

"Well, how do you guys feel about Kansas?"

* * *

_**Tobias**_

Tobias groaned as he woke up, feeling stiff. After the plans to head for Kansas had been hammered out, he had approached Leo about getting his sword and Yahan's dagger back, plus asking if there was any place that wasn't being used that they could spend the night. They had gotten their weapons back, as for sleeping they had ended up having to spend the night in the cargo hold. But they hadn't needed anything aside from some spare blankets since he could make mattresses of air that were just a comfortable as any bed.

Then he had been forced to get up when Coach Hedge had spent the first hour after curfew doing his nightly duty, walking up and down the ship yelling, "Lights out! Settle down! Try to sneak out, and I'll smack you back to Long Island!" He had also banged his baseball bat against the door whenever he heard a noise, shouting at everyone to go to sleep, which made it _impossible_ for them to go to sleep. That had stopped at Tobias had gotten up and threatened him. Amazing that he would calm down with the threat of being thrown off a ship flying a mile or so above the ground if he didn't shut up.

Now he was waking up to the faint sound of the breakfast bell and two things that were radiating warmth were pressing down on top of his arms. He opened his eyes to see what he expected, both Kazehana and Yahan on either side of him. He idily wondered what the others would think if they walked in to see both of them hugging his arms like teddy bears, and under the same blanket as him. That made him snort with amusement before he sat up. He had to pull his arms from both grips, which made them both frown cutely while reaching to recover their heat source like they normally did.

He reached up and popped both arms which cracking his neck, feeling the bones pop back into place in all of them. The air was a bit cold against his bare chest since he only worn jeans to bed, but he didn't mind

"Girls, time to wake up." He gently shook both their shoulders. Kazehana frowned and curled up into a ball while Yahan muttered "don't wanna," and pulled the sheets closer.

"Come on, time to get up." He said a bit louder while the blanket lifted and crumpled into a ball above them. Both girls grumbled again and opened their eyes, irritation and sleepiness in them.

"You use to wake us up better then that." Yahan grumbled as she sat up. Her nightwear consisted of a plain white t-shirt that she preferred and black, skintight shorts that left little to the imagination. "What happened?" She yawned, scratching her head and making her case of bed hair even worse.

"You two started getting spoiled, that's what happened. Now let's get dressed before someone walks in." He got up and grabbed the blanket ball, shaking it out to flatten it before he started folding it.

"Why do we care if they walk in?" Kazehana grumbled, getting up and tilting her neck.

"We wouldn't, but if it was one of the guys I think they'd die from embaresssment when they saw you. Or the girls." He added. Kazehana was not known for her modesty, even if she had gotten better about it since he had first met her. Despite that, she did sometimes insist on returning to one of her old habits once in a blue moon. In this case, sleeping in nothing but panties.

"Don't these people risk their lives every day fighting monsters to the death?" Yahan asked while getting up, looking more awake as she went to a duffle bag that the others had not seen last night, zipping it open.

"Yeah, but other then that they're still normal people. And normal peope tend to get embaresssed when they walk in on somebody naked." Having finished folding up the blankets, he set the small square down before the shirt he had taken off last night and set on the ground flew into his right hand.

"Odd, since you'd think life and death situations would make that less of an issue." Kazehana commented as he put on his shirt and Yahan handed her some clothes that she started putting on.

"The universe is full of mysteries Kazehana. Many stranger then this." Tobias added while picking up the blanket again and looking them both over. Yahan had finished getting dressed and was now finger combing her hair into place. Today she had gone causal, just a comfortable, light purple short sleeve shirt that was the same color as her eyes and a pair of jeans like yesterday. Kazehana had taken the clothes Yahan and given her. A pair of blue shorts that stopped halfway down her thighs and a red shirt that was a bit stressed in the chest area. She was putting her hair in its ponytail. "You both look nice." He smiled.

Both girls smiled back at the compliment before Yahan went over and stole a good morning kiss from him. A few seconds later they separated and Kazehana stole one for herself. The 'empathy link' (he still got a laugh out of that- his bond with his girlfriends went so much deeper then a empathy link ever could) let him feel the love and contentment both of them were feeling at the moment.

"Hey guys, breakfast is reADY!" The voice went high at the end of the sentence, but it could still be recognized as female. Tobias and Kazehana separated to see a brightly blushing Hazel standing in the entrance to the cargo bay. She looked extremely embaressed at the moment.

"Thanks Hazel, we'll be up in a second." The girl nodded but was looking everywhere except at them, which Tobias found amusing. Amazing how much things like this made her uncomfortable, but she was from the 1940's. Things were diffrent back then, if somewhat idiotic in his opinion.

"You ok? You look a bit flushed." Yahan asked, smirking mischievously.

"I-I'm fine." The daughter of Pluto stuttered, darkening with the question.

"Ok, leave her alone Yahan. Hazel, do you know where Leo is, I need to give these back to him." Tobias asked, lifting the blankets he was holding.

"I- I can take them." She said, her blush dying but she still had her stutter. She took them from him while looking down.

"Thanks. Also, don't let Yahan get to you, she just has fun teasing people, but once you get past that she's ok."

"Hey! I am more then 'ok!' "

"Ssssuuurrreee, and River isn't gun happy." He snipped back before they left to grab some food. Tobias contented himself with some toast and jam. Yahan had some scrambled eggs with salt and pepper for seasoning and Kazehana had a breakfast burrito with eggs, sausage and cheese. They ate fast and finished when they heard Coach Hedge yell, "Thar she blows! Kansas, ahoy!"

"Is he a goat man or a really bad pirate?" Yahan asked, wipping her mouth with a napkin.

"Both. Let's go check out the view." Tobias got up from the table and they all headed up to the deck railing where the others were standing to see they were heading towards a giant sunflower field that from their height didn't look any bigger then a table placemat, but was quickly growing larger. A few minutes later the landing gear was extending and settled in the sunflower field. The oars retreated and the gangplank lowered itself.

Tobias took a deep breath. The morning air smell like irrigation, warm plants, and fertilized earth. He also noticed how the others were. Percy had changed into a orange Camp Half-Blood shirt, looking exceedingly comfortable in them. He figured being back in familiar clothes- and having his arm around Annabeth- had helped his mood. He also noticed Annabeth had a sparkle in her eye.

Tobias sensed something behind him and said without turning around, "Morning Piper." He looked over his shoulder to see the daughter of Aphrodite, looking surprised and holding a bagel.

"Morning." She said, coming to join them.

"So," Annabeth plucked the bagel from Piper's hand and took a bite, but it didn't look like it bothered her. "Here we are. What's the plan?"

"I want to check out the highway, find the sign that says Topeka 32."

"Why do we care about a mile marker?" Yahan asked while Leo spun his Wii controller in a circle, lowering the sails. Piper explained the vision she had had, the man in purple with a silver goblet. Tobias could tell that she had other things she wasn't telling them, but he didn't press.

"Purple shirt, vines on his hat? That sounds like Bacchus." Jason said.

"Dionysus," Percy muttered. "If we came all the way to Kansas to see _Mr. D-"_

"Whose that?" Kazehana looked at Tobias.

"God of wine, and no, you are _not _meeting him. He's a huge douche, plus you don't need to meet someone who can conjure alcohol out of nothing."

Kazehana pouted. "You ruin all my fun." She complained.

"Bacchus isn't so bad," Jason said. "I don't like his followers much..." Piper shuddered when he said that. "But the god himself is ok. I did him a favor once up in the wine country."

"Didn't Zeus order all the gods to cease contact with mortals?" Tobias asked.

Frank grunted. The big guy was dressed in a blue track suit like he was ready to for a jog in the sunflowers. "The gods haven't been very good at following _that_ order. Plus if they have gone schizophrenic like you guys said, then who knows what's going on with them. Could be some pretty bad stuff out there."

"Sounds dangerous!" Leo agreed cheerfully. "Well, you guys have fun with that, the highway is close to here. I've got to finish repairs on the hull, Coach, you can work on the broken crossbows. And, uh, Annabeth I could really use your help. You're the only other person who ever _sort of _understands engineering."

The blonde looked at Percy apologetically. "He's right. I should stay and help."

"I'll come back to you." He kissed her on the cheek. "Promise."

"Aww." Yahan and Kazehana said, smiling at the scene while Piper looked away. Tobias felt that they both found the act adorable and he could see why. Frank slid his bow off his shoulder and propped it against the rail.

"I think I should turn into a crow or something and fly around, keep an eye out for Roman eagles."

"Sounds like a plan." Tobias spoke up as Leo opened his mouth. Knowing him, it'd be something insulting by accident. "Maybe Hazel and Arion can help a out from the ground."

"I can do that." She nodded before looking at Percy. "Just be careful when you guys go out there. There could be some _karpoi_ on the loose with all those crops and fields."

"Some what?" Piper asked.

"Grain spirits. Mean things too. Think Cupids with parhana teeth and green eyes." Percy explained. "But in any case, that leaves three of us to check out the mile marker. Me, Jason, and Piper."

"Think I can join? I can't do any good here anyways so this'll give me something to do." Tobias asked. Going to meet Mr. D wasn't on the top of his list of things to do, but it couldn't hurt. Plus the upcoming event wouldn't be fun.

Percy looked at him like he was appraisingly. Tobias felt like he was being scanned by an X-ray machine. But he had be subjected to worse sensations before,so he didn't show any reaction. Finally Percy shrugged.

"Sure you can keep up?" He asked.

Tobias smirked. "Give me five minutes to do something first, then let's find the highway."

Leo had said they were close. His definition of "close" needed some work. After getting changed into his black t-shirt with the white wolf head and his black jeans, they had left the ship and started walking towards where Leo said the highway was. They then spent twenty minutes trudging through half a mile of hot fields, getting bitten by mosquitoes and whacked in the face with scratchy sunflowers. Tobias was a bit irritated he couldn't use his powers to make this easier, but he had to keep his tricks up his sleeve until they were needed to keep Gaea and her minions on edge. Plus he disliked being separated from his girlfriends, so that was made it worse.

In any case, they made it to the road, a long black strip of asphalt cutting through the fields. A old billboard for Bubba's Gas 'n' Grub indicated they were still forty miles from the first Topeka exit.

"Correct my math," Percy said, "but doesn't that mean we have eight miles to walk?"

Jason peered down both ways down the deserted road. He looked better then the first time Tobias had seen him in his cabin. Thanks to the magical healing of ambrosia and nectar, his color was back to normal and the scar on his forehead was almost gone. The _gladius _sword he used was hanging from his belt.

"No cars..." He said. "But I guess we wouldn't want to hitchhike."

"No," Piper agreed, looking nervously down the highway. "We've already spent too much time going overland. The earth is Gaea's territory."

"Hhmm..." Jason snapped his fingers. "I can call a friend for a ride."

Percy raised his eyebrows. "Oh yeah? Me too. Let's see whose friend gets here first."

Jason whistled while Percy shut his eyes and concentrated. Tobias knew what they were doing but this would still be a interesting experience for him. He had never encountered a storm spirit before, and considering his connection and control of air, it'd be odd to meet something made of it.

"Hey, Tobias?" Piper asked.

"Yeah?"

"Didn't Leo give you back you back your sword?" This question caught the attention of the other two.

Tobias snorted. He was wondering if anyone would notice that he didn't have his sword on his hip and question why. "Yes he did. Don't worry, I made sure to come prepared."

He got a look from the trio but they didn't question it. A few seconds later, Tobias looked towards the horizon as thunder crackled in the clear sky. He sensed something coming towards them fast.

Jason smiled. "Soon."

"Too late." Percy pointed east where a black winged shape was spiraling towards them. If Tobias didn't know what it he was, he would've thought it was a bird.

"A black pegasus?" Piper asked. "I've never seen one like that before."

The winged satallion came in for a landing before trotting over to Percy. He nuzzled his face before he turned his head inquisitively towards the others.

"Blackjack," Percy said. "This is Jason, Piper, and Tobias. They're friends." The horse nickered. "Uh, maybe later."

Tobias knew children of Posiden could speak to horses since the god had created the first horse out of sea foam, but it was fascinating to see in action.

"What does Blackjack want?" Tobias asked.

"Donuts," Percy said. "Always donuts. He can carry three of us, but whoever's left will..."

Tobias snapped his head to the side as the thing he had been sensing suddenly started drawing on the air surrounding it. The air around them turned cold and his ears popped. Fifty yards away, a miniature cyclone three stories tall tore across the tops of the sunflowers like a scene from _The Wizard of Oz._ It touched down next to Jason and took the form of a horse- a misty steed with lightning flickering through its body.

"Tempest," Jason said, grinning broadly. "Long time, my friend."

The storm spirit reared and whined, making Blackjack back up skittishly.

"Easy, boy," Percy said. "He's a friend too." He gave Jason a impressed look. "Nice ride, Grace."

Jason shurrged. "I made friends with him during our battle at the Wolf House. He's a free spirit..." Jason stopped talking when Tempest suddenly snorted and walked forwards, stopping in front of Tobias. The two looked at each other, silver eyes into lightning. Tobias could sense the confusion in Tempest's mind and it was just as confusing for him. The sensation going through his head was like a dumbed down version of a empathy link. The steed snorted again and lightning started focusing in it's eyes, like it was charging up.

"Tempest, what are you..." Jason stopped when Tobias lifted a hand and curled his fingers, brining his own powers down to bear. The storm spirit's form suddenly collapsed into a storm cloud, swirling with lightning flashing in its center. He felt the sudden anger from being held captive as Tempest tried to force his way free.

Tobias curled his fingers a but more, causing the storm cloud to shrink. _Don't test me _was the message Tobias sent through the link he had with the spirit. A few seconds of struggling later, Tobias sensed him stop and simply sit there, the lightning stopping as the struggle stopped. He nodded in satisfaction before letting his hand down as the cloud returned to horse form. The stallion bowed its head, letting Tobias rubbed his head.

"Good boy." He chuckled while the horse nickered happily. He then noticed the astonished/stunned look on Jason and Piper's face. "What?" He asked while giving a light push on the storm spirt, making it back up and go back to Jason.

"How did you do?" Jason asked, looking at Tempest. "He never let's anyone do that, not even me."

"He's a good spirit, you just need a firmer hand." Tobias explained before clapping his hands, not wanting to answer questions right now. "So, shall we get going?"

They still looked uneasy but Jason mounted his stallion, pulling Piper up while Tobias rode with Percy. The pegasus flapped his wings and took a running start before lifting off, while down below Tempest raced across the black streak of road. They didn't run into any cars which was good, otherwise they might've caused a wreak. In no time at all, they arrived at the thirty-two-mile marker. Blackjack landed while Tempest skidded to a stop, both horses pawing the ground. Neither looked, or in Tempest's case, felt pleased to have stopped when they'd just gotten into their stride.

Blackjack whinned as Tobias slid off him.

"You're right," Percy said. "No sign of the wine dude."

"I beg your pardon?" A voice in the fields asked. Tobias barely suppressed a grunt as he suddenly felt power slamming into his senses like strikes from a sledgehammer.

The wheat parted and a man stepped into view. He wore a wide-brimmed hat wreathed in grapevines, a purple short sleeved shirt, khaki shorts, and Birkenstocks with white socks. He looked around thirty, with a slight potbelly, like a frat boy who hadn't yet realized college was over.

"Did someone just call me the _wine dude_?" He asked in a lazy drawl. "It's Bacchus, please. Or Lord Bacchus. Or, sometimes, Oh-My-Gods-Please-Don't-Kill-Me, Lord Bacchus."

Percy urged blackjack forward, but the pegasus didn't look happy about it.

"You look different." Percy told the god. "Skinner. Your hair is longer. And your shirt isn't as loud."

Tobias smacked his forehead. Those weren't the best things to say to a god at any time. The wine god squinted up at Percy.

"What in blazes are you talking about? Who are you, and where is Ceres?"

"Uh...what series?"

"He means Ceres, the goddess of agriculture. You'd call her Demeter." Jason said before nodding at the god respectfully. "Lord Bacchus, do you remember me? I helped you with that missing leopard in Sonoma."

Bacchus scratched his stubbly chin. "Ah...yes. John Green."

"Jason Grace."

"Whatever," the god said. "Did Ceres send you then?"

"No, Lord Bacchus," Jason said while Tobias rubbed his eyes. It was killing him that they had to be respectful to this guy simply because he could kill them on a whim if they angered him. This was taking too long. "Were you expecting to meet her here?"

The god snorted. "Well, I didn't come to Kansas to _party_, my boy. Ceres asked me here for a council of war what with Gaea rising, the crops are withering, droughts are spreading, and the _karpoi_ are in revolt. Even my grasp aren't safe. Ceres wanted a united front in the plant war."

"The plant war," Percy said. "You're going to arm all the little grasp with tiny assault rifles?" Tobias made a invisible Air Hand that smacked Percy behind the head for being disrespectful. He didn't like the god, but he still didnt want his friend killed.

The god narrowed his eyes. "Have we met?"

"At Camp Half-Blood," Percy said. "I know you as Mr. D-Dionysus."

"Agh!" Bacchus winced and pressed his hands to his temples while Tobias felt the power in the air change. For a moment, his image flickered. The person in front of them was fatter, dumpier, and in a much louder leopard-patterned shirt. Then the god returned to Bacchus. "Stop that!" He demanded. "Stop thinking about me in Greek!"

Percy blinked. "Uh, but-"

"Do you have any idea how _hard _it is to stay focused? Splitting headaches all the time! I never know where I'm going or what I'm doing! Constantly grumpy!"

"That sounds pretty normal for you."

"Percy!" Tobias hissed while smacking the demigod in the head again with his Air Hand. They didn't need to anger a grumpy god with those kinds of comments. Said god flared his nostrils while one of his grape leaves on his hat burst into flames.

"If we know each other from that _other _camp, it's a wonder I haven't turned you into a dolphin."

"It was discussed," Percy assured him. "I think you were just to lazy to do it."

Tobias tried to keep himself from strangling Percy right now. It was like watching a car wreak in progress, but it was deliberate instead of accidental. Percy was _not _making things better and Annabeth wasn't here to reign him in, so...

"Percy, please shut up." Tobias rubbed his temples while making the Air Hand cover his mouth. "You'll have to forgive him Lord Bacchus, he has a habit of being impulsive and making rash actions." He said repectfully while bowing at the hip.

The god frowned but the purple glow in his eyes didn't get any brighter. "I see. And who might you be?"

"Tobias Song, Lord Bacchus."

The gods eyes narrowed. "I don't belive we've had the pleasure of meeting."

"No sir." He needed some help here otherwise this conversation was going to go nowhere fast. He shot Piper a look that he hoped said _a little help here!_

"Lord Bacchus!" Thankfully it did and Piper slid off of Tempest's back.

"Piper, careful." Jason said and she shot him a warning glance.

"We're sorry to bother you, my lord, but we actually came here for your adivice. Please, we need your wisdom." Her voice sounded repectful and agreeable, while Tobias felt the charmspeak trying to relax him and hear what she had to say.

The god frowned but the glow faded from his eyes as he turned his attention to her. "You're well spoken, girl. Advice, eh? Very well. I would avoid karaoke. Really, theme parties in general are out. In these austere times, people are looking for a simple, low-key affair, with locally produced organic snacks and-"

"Not about parties," Piper interrupted. "Although that's incredibly useful advice, Lord Bacchus. We were hoping you'd help us on our quest." Piper went on to explain the _Argo II _and their voyage to stop Gaea, and she told him what Nemesis had told them: that in six days, Rome would be destroyed. She explained a vision she had had in her knife, where the god had offered her a silver goblet.

"Silver goblet?" The god didn't sound very excited as he grabbed a Diet Pepsi from nowhere and popped the top of the can.

"You drink-" Percy was cut off from his sentence as Tobias covered his mouth with Air Hand again. The god ignored him.

"I'm afraid I have nothing for you to drink young lady, unless you want a Pepsi. Jupiter has put me under strict order to avoid giving wine to minors. Bothersome, but there you have it. As for the giants, I know them well. I fought them in the first Giant War, you know."

"I'm sure it wasn't much trouble for someone as powerful as you Lord Bacchus." Tobias said suggestively, hoping to hear more while Percy tried to speak but failed. They did not need him being turned into a dolphin because he simply couldn't keep his mouth shut and comments to himself.

"Of course not!" The god puffed up his chest while his Diet Pepsi transformed into a five foot staff wreathed in ivy, topped with a pinecone.

"A _thyrsus!"_ Piper said, trying to sound excited but Tobias detected a undercurrent of unease. "Oh, what a mighty weapon!"

"Indeed." The god agreed. "I'm glad to see _some _members of your group is smart. The pinecone is a fearsome tool of destruction! I was a demigod myself in the first Giant War, you know. The son of Jupiter!"

Jason flinched. He probably wasn't thrilled to be reminded that the Wine Dude was technically his big brother.

Bacchus swung his staff through the air, but his potbelly almost threw him off balance. "Of course that was long before I invented wine and became an immortal. I fought side by side with the gods and some other demigod..."

"I believe it was Heracles, lord Bacchus. Your story has been one of my favorites since I was a boy and I remember quite clearly what was written about your glory." Tobias didn't know where he came up with this stuff, but if it appeased to the god he'd say it. Even if he felt like he needed some mouthwash.

"Yes, it was but never mind him." Bacchus said. "Anyways, I killed the giant Ephialtes and his bother Otis. Horrible boors, those two. Pinecone in the face for both of them!"

Tobias had to keep a smile from his face when he heard Piper gasp and spared a glance. It looked like she was putting the peices toghther. "Lord Bacchus." She said. "Those two giants, Ephialtes and Otis...would they happen to be twins?"

"Hmm?" The god seemed distracted by his _thyrsus _swinging, but he nodded. "Yes, twins. That's right."

Piper looked at Jason and they seemed to be thinking the same thing. He remembered the line of the prophecy they were thinking off: _Twins snuff out the angle's breath. _

"That's why we're here," she told the god. "You're a part of our quest."

Bacchus frowned. "I'm sorry, my girl. I'm not a demigod anymore, I don't _do_ quests."

"Forgive me, Lord Bacchus," Tobias spoke up before Piper could argue. "I may be over stepping my bounds, but I must point out that giants can only be killed by heros and gods working together. If we are unable to stop the giants and the awakening of Gaea, then everything will end. Western civilization, the Age of the Gods, even your grapes would destroyed!" He had to resist the urge to gag at the sheer amount of ego-building stuff he was saying to this god. "I'm afraid we are in desperate need of your help, my lord."

The god considered him before shaking his head. "Your right. It would be horrible if that came to pass, but I'm afraid I only help those who give me proper tribute, which no one has done in many, many centuries."

Blackjack whinned uneasily and Tobias did not blame him. The way Bacchus was speaking, _tribute _just sounded like a nicer word for _sacrifice_.

"What kind of tribute?" Percy asked.

The god waved his hand dismissively. "Nothing _you _could handle, insolent Greek. But since your two friends have _some_ manners, I will give you some free advice. Seek out Gaea's son, Phorcys. He has always hated his mother, not that I blame him. He didn't have much use for his siblings the twins either. You will find him in the city they named after that heroine- Atalanta."

"You mean Atlanta?" Tobias asked.

"That's the one."

"But this Phorcys," Jason said. "Is he a giant? A Titan?"

Bacchus laughed. "Neither. Seek out the salt water."

"Salt water..." Percy asked. "In Atlanta?"

"Yes, are you hard of hearing? If anyone can give you insight on Gaea and the twins, it's Phorcys. Just watch out for him."

"What do you mean?" Jason asked.

The god glanced up at the sun, which had almost climbed to high noon. "It's unlike Ceres to be late, unless she sensed something dangerous in this area. Or..." Bacchus's facd suddenly went slack. "Or a trap. Well, I must be going! And if I were you, I'd do the same!"

"Bacchus, wait!" Tobias tried to protest but the god shimmered and disappeared with a sound like a soda can being popped open. He sensed the wind resulting through the sunflowers was dark, menacing. He felt a cold feeling pass over the back of his neck despite the heat. With the cold he sensed something else...like a spirit...

"Bacchus is right," Piper said, looking just as anxious to leave as he was. "We need to leave-"

_Too late,_ said a sleepy voice, humming through the fields all around them and resonating in the ground at heir feet. Percy and Jason both drew their swords and Piper stood, frozen in fear apparently, while Tobias grunted in pain, grabbing his head. The power of Gaea...it was _everywhere_. To him the air felt like it was suddenly carrying a current of one million volts that slammed into him. The sunflowers turned to look at them and the wheat bent towards them like a million scythes.

_Welcome to my party, _Gaea murmured. The sound reminded Tobias of corn growing- a crackling hissing, hot and persistent noise he would hear whenever he was in farm land. He shook his head, getting over the shock of having that much power slamming into him as the earth goddess spoke again.

_What did Bacchus say? _She mocked. _A simple, low key affair with organic snacks? Yes. For my snacks, I need only two: the blood of a female demigod, and the blood of a male. Piper, my dear, choose which hero will die with you._

Tobias snarled while he started exerting his pull over the air. It was time for introductions, and he was going to make sure she remembered this one.

"Gaea!" He yelled while the wind started twisting around him like a mini twister, shooting his hair up and the ground skating slightly from the power in his yell. "Stop hiding in the wheat and show yourself!"

Gaea was briefly surprised before she turned amused and interested. _Such power in one so...insignificant. What is your name, boy?"_

"My name is Tobias Song...and you can keep your grubby, little hands off my friends, Dirt Face!" He shouted, borrowing one of Leo's insults.

_Interesting,_ the goddess mused. _I know of every being that walks or has walked across my skin, but I have never encountered one such as yourself. But I have other matters to attend to, such as wheather Percy Jackson or Jason Grace should die with Piper McLean. Choose, daughter of Aphrodite, or I will choose for you._

"You're insane!" Piper shouted back. "I'm not choosing anything for you!"

Suddenly Jason gasped and sat up straight in his saddle.

"Jason!" Piper cried. "What's wrong-?" Tobias saw the expression the demigod had when he looked down at Piper. Deadly calm, with eyes that were glowing solid gold instead of being blue. He quickly looked at Percy to see the same thing. Calm expression, gold eyes. Piper stumbled away from Tempest while Percy turned and galloped away from them, stopping thirty feet down the road. He wheeled Blackjack around to face them and pointed his sword towards Jason.

"_One will die,"_ Percy said but the voice wasn't his. It was deep and hollow, like someone was whispering from inside the barrel of a canon.

_"I will choose."_ Jason answered in the same tone.

"No!" Piper yelled.

All around them the fields crackled and hissed, sounding like Gaea was laughing as Percy and Jason charged at each other, weapons at the ready.

**A/N: And that's a wrap on chapter five! This is one of the longer chapters I wrote for this chapter but I figured I'd go big or go home with this one. I also decided to not stick with all the point of views that go on in the book but throw in my OC's for some varity, let you see how he sees and interprets The world he's in. Any way, next chapter will be up soon so don't forget to follow, favorite, and review!**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Piper**_

If it wasn't for Tobias, Piper would've died.

Jason and Percy both charged each other but Tobias tackled her out of the way before the met in the center. They rolled to the edge of the road as she looked back, dazed and horrified as the boys crossed swords, bronze against gold. Sparks flew and their blades blurred, striking and parrying at high speed while the pavement shook. The first exchange took only a second but Piper could barely track their swords as they fought. The horses then pulled away from each other, Tempest thundering and Blackjack flapping his wings.

"Damn it!" Piper heard a _Zing!_ and looked to see Tobias somehow had his sword in his right hand and it's sheath in his left. "Leave it to Gaea to pull this crap!"

"You can't fight them!" Piper said. "They're too good, you'll get killed!"

Tobias looked at her. "I'm not the one in danger." He looked back as the two were charging each other again and swinging their swords. Tobias suddenly blurred out of sight while the ground beneath his feet cracked, followed by a loud _clang!_ Piper looked back to see him between the two demigods, blocking both their swords with his sheath and sword. The two demigods and Piper were shocked.

Tobias looked at them both with a frown. "I don't know what's wrong with you two, but I can't have you killing each other. Ha!" The two demigods were thrown off their mounts and skidded across the asphalt on their backs. Blackjack and Tempest both felt their riders leave their backs and reacted, the black pegasus running into the sunflower field while the storm spirit ran and dissolved into wind that rushed through the sunflowers.

Percy and Jason both got back their feets, neither one looking injured but their shirts were almost completely shredded in the back and their jeans were torn.

_"You cannot stop us."_ Percy said.

_"Step aside or we will kill you." _Jason added.

"I'd like to see you try." Tobias snorted. "Piper, use your skill to find out what's going on."

"What?" Piper didn't know what skill he meant, but she didn't get a chance to ask when Jason and Percy decided to attack.

"Charmspeak them!" Tobias said before blocking the first swing from Percy. He parried and swung his sheath at percy's legs, forcing him to jump back.

"Oh!" Piper got it. "Uh, Percy, stop!"

The demigod's sword arm dipped but Jason didn't follow the order. He roared and lightning arced out of the clear blue sky. It ricocheted off his _gladius _and fired at Percy.

"No!" Tobias kicked Percy out of the way and took the lightning bolt straight to the chest, knocking him back onto the ground with the point of impact smoking. For a heart stopping moment Piper thought he was dead until there was a cough and smoke escaped from his mouth. "Ow." He wheezed out before slowly sitting up, his hair sticking up and sparking.

He looked up and his eyes widened. "Whoa!" He backflipped as Percy's sword sliced through the space his body had previously occupied, but he was forced to leave his sword and sheath behind as Percy pressed the attack, swinging his sword with unbelievable speed while Tobias dodged just as fast. Finally, he grabbed the wrist and twisted, forcing Percy to hunch over and drop his sword while Tobias wrapped his other arm around his neck.

"Piper! Get Jason!" Tobias wrestled Percy to the ground while Jason was charging them again.

"Jason, stop!" Piper yelled, desperation fueling her power.

Jason froze, his arm pulled back to swing. He looked at her, the gold in his eyes flickering uncertainly. _"I cannot stop. One must die."_

That voice wasn't right...it wasn't Gaea, but it wasn't Jason either. Whatever was using his mouth to speak was speaking haltingly, like English was its second language.

"Who are you?" Piper demanded while Tobias managed to get Percy face down on the pavement, his right knee pressing into his back. His right hand was keeping Percy's trapped behind him and his left was pressing the demigods head into the ground.

Jason's mouth twisted into a gruesome smile. _"We are the eidolons. We will live again."_

"Eidolons...?" Pipers mind raced, trying to remember the name from the monsters she had studied at Camp Half-Blood, but the term wasn't familiar. "You're-you're some sort of ghost?"

"_He must die."_ Jason turned his attention back to the other two.

"Sorry Jason." Tobias lifted his left hand and pointed it at the son of Jupiter. Piper noticed the sheath he had dropped earlier lift and zoom at Jason's head, hitting it with a solid and nauseating _clunk. _He collapsed like a puppet with his strings cut.

"What did you do!?" Piper screamed.

"Don't worry, he's alive. Just unconscious." Tobias nodded back at Jason and, looking closely, Piper saw his chest was rising and falling. "Now..." The sheath flew into his free hand and he dropped the closed end a few inches from percy's nose. "What are you, and what do you want?"

_"You will get nothing from me." _Percy replied calmly. _"You will not kill your friend."_

Tobias glanced at Piper. She took a breath, getting her nerves back under control before she said firmly. "You're a spirit from the Underworld, aren't you? You're possessing Percy Jackson?" Her charmspeak would compel the spirit to answer their questions.

Percy sneered. _"I will live again in this body. The Earth Mother has promised. I will go where I please, control whom I wish."_

"That's what happened to Leo," Tobias guessed. "He was being controlled by one of you, wasn't he?"

The thing inside Percy laughed without humor. _"You realize too late. You can trust no one, for we can posses anyone."_

"And I think that's all we're going to get out of him." Tobias got off Percy and flipped him over before knocking him out with a swift punch between the eyes. He brushed off his jeans and flattened his hair. "Nice going Piper."

Piper looked down at the ground feeling a bit ashamed. She had been completely useless during that small skirmish while Tobias had almost gotten killed. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" She looked up to see him looking confused, which confused her.

"I...I wasn't any help during that fight."

"You were helpful." Tobias held out his right hand, causing his sword to fly into it before he sheathed it. "You kept Jason distracted while I took care of Percy, if you hadn't done that things would've gotten much, much worse. Don't sell yourself short." He smiled and Piper smiled back, feeling a bit better.

"Now," the smile vanished from Tobias's face. "We have the problem of how we're going to get these two back to the ship, which is eight miles away."

Piper stopped smiling. She didn't know what else they could do, but carrying a knocked out heavy demigod eight miles in this sun did not sound fun. Sadly she didn't have a better idea until she heard some rustling in the sunflowers. They both looked to see Blackjack cautiously exiting the field.

"Hey Blackjack, good to see you." Tobias looked like he had an idea as he approached the horse and held out his hand, palm up. The horse sniffed it before looking at him. "Hey, think you can help us with something?"

It took a few minutes to check on both Percy and Jason to make sure they were ok. Jason's breathing and pulse were fine, but he had an ugly bruise on the back of his skull from where the sheath had hit him. Plus he had been recovering from a head injury, so there was that to consider. Percy was fine other then a small amount of swelling from where he had been punched. Both had minor scratches on their backs.

Piper mounted Blackjack while Tobias put both demigods on his back like saddle bags.

"What about you?" Piper asked. Blackjack couldn't carry more than three people.

"Hhmm..." Tobias looked out at the fields. "I wonder if..." He took a deep breath, stuck two fingers in his mouth. He then whistled long and loud, making Piper's ears ring and Blackjack's flick back. They both waited a few second before the air pressure dropped and turned cold. Piper spotted a familiar cyclone coming over the sunflowers before it reached them and formed back into Tempest.

"Ha! Neat, I didn't think that would work!" Tobias scratched the neck of the horse before mounting it like it was solid instead of wind. "Let's go."

The others were a little surprised when Piper came back on a pegasus with two unconscious demigods and Tobias was riding a wind spirit like it was perfectly normal. Tempest vanished after Tobias thanked him while Blackjack was tended to by Hazel and Frank. Annabeth and Leo helped get Piper and the boys to the sick bay.

"At this rate we're going to run out of ambrosia," Coach Hedge grumbled as he tended to their injuries. "How come I never get invited on these violent trips?"

Piper sat by Jason's side. She herself had been fine after a swig on nectar and water, but she was still worried about the boys. Tobias was being worried over by his girlfriends despite his protests he was fine.

"Leo," Piper said. "Are we ready to sail?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Set course for Atlanta. I'll explain later."

"But...ok." He hurried off.

Annabeth didn't argue with Piper either. She was too busy examining the by now large lump in between Percy's eyes.

"What _hit _him?" She demanded.

"That would be my fault." Tobias lifted his hand from one of the other beds where he was sitting.

"_What?"_

Piper and Tobias both tried to explain while Coach Hedge applied some healing paste to the boys' heads and backs. She'd had never been impressed with his nursing abilities before, but he must've done something right. Either that, or the spirits that had posses the boys simply made them more durable. They both groaned and opened their eyes.

Within a few minutes, Jason and Percy were sitting up and able to talk in complete sentences. Both had fuzzy memories what happened. When Piper described their duel on the highway, Jason winced.

"Knocked out twice in two days," he muttered. "Some demigod." He glanced sheepishly at Tobias. "Sorry, man. I didn't mean to blast you."

"Don't worry about. I've gotten hit with worse then a bolt of lightning." Tobias waved the apology aside. Piper then noticed something.

"How come your shirt isn't burnt?" The spot where he had been hit was blackened with soot, but other then that, it was completely unharmed.

"Durable material. You wouldn't believe the punishment this stuff can take."

"Still, we could've killed you." Percy said with a slight wince.

Yahan and Kazehana both snorted with amusement, drawing attention to them.

"You couldn't have killed him, not if he was serious." Yahan said a cocky smirk on her face.

"But he's not even a demigod. Even if he is fast, he would've lost eventually." Jason pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah, you both would've been great at killing me," Tobias cut off Yahan's response. "Now can we please get some food? I'm hungry, plus we need to talk about what Bacchus said. Some things don't-"

"Bacchus?" Annabeth raised her hand. "Ok, fine. We'll meet in the mess hall in ten to talk. I'll tell the others. And Percy... Change your clothes. You smell like a parking lot."

* * *

Leo gave the helm to Coach Hedge, after making the satyr promise he would not steer them to the nearest military base "for fun."

They gathered around the dining table, and Piper and Tobias explained what happened at the mile marker- their conversation with Bacchus, the trap sprung by Gaea, and the eidolons that possessed the boys.

"Of course!" Hazel slapped the table, which startled Frank so much, he dropped his burrito. "That's what happened to Leo too."

"So it wasn't my fault," Leo exhaled. "I didn't start World War Three, I just got possessed by an evil spirit. That's a relief!"

"But the Romans don't know that," Tobias pointed out. "And why would they take our word for it?"

"We could contact Reyna," Jason suggested. "She would believe us."

Hearing the way Jason said her name, like it was a lifeline to his past, made Piper's heart sink.

Jason turned to her with a hopeful gleam in his eyes. "You could convince her, Pipes. I know you could."

Piper felt like all the blood in her body was draining into her feet while Tobias rubbed his eyes. Annabeth looked at her sympathetically, as it to say: _Boys are so clueless. _Even Hazel, Kazehana, and Yahan winced.

"I could try," she said halfheartedly. "But Octavian is the one we need to worry about. In my dagger blade, I saw him taking control of the Roman crowd. I'm not sure Renya can stop him."

Jason's expression darkened. Piper didn't get any pleasure from bursting his bubble, but Hazel and Frank nodded in agreement."

"She's right." Frank said. "This afternoon when we were scouting, we saw eagles again. They were a long way off, but closing fast. Octavian is on the warpath."

Hazel grimaced. "This is exactly the sort of opportunity Octavian has always wanted. He'll try to seize power and if Renya objects, he'll just say she's soft on the Greeks."

"This Octavian is sounding very similar to someone we know." Kazehana's expression darkened along with Yahan's.

"Sadly, he is similar to who you're thinking of." Tobias confirmed, making both girls hands tightened into fists. "But I want to know how those eagles keep finding us. They're like bloodhounds."

"They are," Jason said. "Roman eagles can hunt demigods by their magical scent even better than monsters can. This ship might conceal us somewhat, but not completely-not from them."

Leo drummed his fingers. "Great. I should've installed a smokescreen that makes the ship smell like a giant chicken nugget. Remind me to invent that, next time."

Hazel frowned. "What is a chicken nugget?"

"Not important." Tobias hurriedly cut off Leo. "The point is, the Romans would never believe that we didn't attack them purposefully. And even if they did, Octavian would just find some other excuse to attack us and Camp Half-Blood."

"You're right." Jason leaned forward. "We should just keep going. Once we're over the Atlantic, we'll be safe- at least from them." He sounded so depressed, Piper wasn't sure she felt sorry for him or resentful.

"Why would crossing an ocean be enough to stop them?" Yahan asked as she picked at her own plate of stir-fried rice and teriyaki.

"The ancient lands, where the gods and monsters originated, is considered a danger zone for demigods. It's where they were 'born,' " Tobias made quotes around the word. "And it's where they're strongest. It's been forbidden to go there for generations, and even Octavian can't get around a rule that's been enforced for that long and that fiercely."

Frank swallowed a bit of burrito like it had turned to cardboard in his mouth. "So, if _we _go there..."

"Then we'll be outlaws as well as traitors." Jason nodded. "Any Roman demigod will have the right to kill us on sight. But I wouldn't worry about that. If we can cross the Atlantic, they'll give up on chasing us since they'll assume we'll die in the Mediterranean- the Mare Nostrum."

Percy pointed his pizza slice at Jason. "You, sir, are a ray of sunshine." Jason didn't argue and everyone else stared at their plates, except for Percy, Kazehana, and Yahan. They kept eating their food, but Piper had no clue where they were putting it all. They had appetites like satyr's.

"So let's plan ahead," Percy suggested. "And make sure we _don't_ die. Mr. D-Bacchus- Ugh, do I have to call him Mr. _B _now? Anyway, he mentioned the twins in Ella's prophecy, two giants."

"Otis and Ephialtes." Tobias nodded.

"Twin giants, like Piper saw in her dagger..." Annabeth her finger around the rim of her cup. "I remember a story about twin giants. They tried to reach Mount Olympus by piling up a bunch of mountains."

"Oh great. We've got a power-hungry snake gunning for us and we're sailing to a place where we'll have to fight giants that can use mountains like building blocks." Yahan set her fork down with a sour look. "And you said that this guy Bacchus killed them with a pinecone on a stick?"

"Well at least it wasn't a jalapeño on a stick." Tobias chuckled like he had made some joke. "Anyway, yeah he apparently did. But he said he couldn't help us unless we made some sort of tribute, and he made it sound like it wasn't a tribute we could handle."

Silence fell around the table. Piper could hear the Coach above deck singing "Blow the Man Down," except he didn't know the lyrics so he mostly sang the beat. She couldn't shake the feeling that Bacchus was _meant _to help them. They giant twins were in Rome and keeping something they needed in that bronze jar. Whatever was in there, she had a feeling it was the key to sealing the Doors of Death- _the key to endless death._ They could never defeat them without Bacchus's help and if they didn't do that in five days, Rome would be destroyed and Hazel's brother, Nico, would die.

On the other hand, if the vision of him offering her a silver goblet was false, maybe the other visions wouldn't come true either- especially the one that had her, Percy, and Jason drowning. Maybe that was symbolic.

"Something is bugging me." Tobias suddenly spoke up. Piper looked to see him looking at the table with his arms crossed and eyebrows knit together. Everyone else looked at him as he continued. "When Gaea sprung that trap, she said she needed the blood of a male and female demigod. She asked Piper to choose who would die with her."

"That's disgusting." Kazehana said angrily.

"Yeah, well, Gaea isn't exactly cheerful and helpful like fairy tales would have you think, but that's not the point. My point is...why would a primordial goddess like her need blood from two demigods?"

Leo whistled softly. "Guys, remember at the Wolf House? Our favorite ice princess, Khione? She talked about spilling Jason's blood, how it would taint the place for generations. Maybe demigod blood has some kind of power."

"Oh..." Percy set down his third slice of pizza. He leaned back and stared at nothing, like that punch to the head had just registered.

"Percy?" Annabeth gripped his arm.

"Oh bad," he muttered. "Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad." He looked across the table at Frank and Hazel. "You guy remember Polybotes?"

"You mean the giant who invaded Camp Jupiter?" Hazel asked sarcastically. "The anti-Poseidon you whacked in the head with a Terminus statue? Yeah, I think I remember him."

"I had dream," Percy said. "When we flying to Alaska. Polybotes was talking to the gorgons, and he said- he said he wanted me taken prisoner, not killed. He said: 'I want that one chained at my feet, so I can kill him when the time is right. His blood shall water the stones of Mount Olympus and wake Earth Mother!' "

Piper wondered if the temperature controls were broken, because suddenly she couldn't stop shaking. It was the same feeling she had gotten back at the mile marker, and she had the sudden sense there was more than nine people listening to this conversation. "You think the giants would use our blood- the blood of two of is-"

"We don't have enough information to make assumptions like that." Tobias said in a calm tone. "But until we figure out what she wants, I suggest we all avoid getting captured."

Jason grunted. "_That _I agree with."

"But how do we figure it out? Hazel asked. "The Mark of Athena, the twins, Ella's prophecy... How does it all fit together?"

Annabeth pressed her against against the edge of the table. "You and Piper told Leo to set our course for Atlanta."

"Right," Piper said. "Bacchus told us to seek out...what was his name?"

"Phorcys." Percy said, which made Annabeth look at him in surprise. Like she wasn't used to her boyfriend having the answers.

"You know him?"

Percy shrugged. "I didn't recognize the name at first, but then Bacchus mentioned salt water and it rang a bell. Phorcys is an old sea god from before my dad's time. I never met him, but I heard he's a son of Gaea. I still don't understand what a sea god would be doing in Atlanta."

Leo snorted. "What's a wine god doing in Kansas? Gods are weird. Anyway, we should reach Atlanta by noon tomorrow, unless something _else _goes wrong."

"Don't even say that," Annabeth muttered. "It's getting late. We should all get some sleep."

"Wait." Piper spoke up.

Everyone looked at her, which made her confidence take a swan dive. She wondered if her instincts were wrong, but she forced herself to speak.

"There's one last thing. The eidolons, the possessing spirits. They're still here, in this room."

She couldn't explain how she knew that. Stories of phantoms and tortured souls had always freaked her out. Her dad used to joke about her Grandpa Tom's Cherokee legends from back on the Rez, but even at home in their big Malibu mansion, looking over the Pacific, whenever he told her ghost stories, they always stuck in her head. One thing she learned was that Cherokee spirits were restless, often losing their way to the Land of the Dead or staying behind out of sheer stubbornness. Sometimes they didn't even realize they _were _dead.

The more Piper learned about being a demigod, the more convinced she was that Cherokee ledge nods and Greek myths weren't so different. The eidolons acted a lot like the spirits in her dad's stories. And she had a gut sense they were still present, simply because no one had told them to go away. When she finished explaining, everyone looked at her uncomfortably. Up on deck, Hedge was singing something that sounded like "In the Navy" while Blackjack stomped his hooves, whinnying in protest.

Finally Hazel sighed. "Piper is right."

"How can you be sure?" Annabeth asked.

"I've met eidolons. In the Underworld, when I was...you know."

_Dead_.

Piper had forgotten that Hazel was a second timer. In her own way, Hazel was a ghost reborn too.

"I hope you have a plan Piper, because I think I speak for everyone when I say we want those things off this boat or out of us." Tobias said tensely, his arms tensed as well.

"I do. I just need everyone to listen." She took a deep breath before meeting their eyes, one person at a time.

"Eidolons," she said, using her charmspeak, "raise your hands."

There was a tense silence.

Leo laughed nervously. "Did you really think that was going to-?" His voice died and his face went slack. He raised his hand.

Jason and Percy did the same. Their eyes had turned glassy and gold. Hazel caught her breath. Next to Leo, Frank scrambled out of his chair and put his back to the wall while Tobias shot out of his to stand, glaring at Leo angrily. Or rather at the spirit using him.

"Oh, gods." Annabeth looked at Piper imploringly. "Can you cure them?"

Piper wanted to whimper and hide under the table, but she _had_ to help Jason. She couldn't believe she had held hands with...No, she refused to think about it. She focused on Leo since he was the least intimidating.

"Are there more of you on this ship?" She asked.

"_No," _Leo said in a hollow tone. _"The Earth Mother sent three. The strongest, the best. We will live again."_

"Not here you won't," Piper growled. "All three of you, listen carefully."

Jason and Percy turned towards her. Those gold eyes were unnerving, but seeing the three boys like this fueled her anger.

"You will leave those bodies," she commanded.

_"No," _Percy said.

Leo let out a soft hiss, sounding like a snake. _"We must live."_

Frank fumbled for his bow. "Mars Almighty, that's creepy! Get out of here, spirits! Leave our friends alone!"

Leo turned towards him. _"You cannot command us, child of war. Your own life is fragile. Your soul could burn at any moment."_

Piper wasn't sure what he meant, but Frank staggered like he had been punched in the gut.

"That's enough!" Tobias snarled, drawing Leo's attention. "Leave him alone and get out of my friend!"

Leo's mouth twisted into a cruel smile. _"Very well..."_

Leo's eyes rolled up into his head and he collapsed before Tobias suddenly grabbed his head and hunched over. He groaned in pain.

"Tobias!" Kazehana and Yahan both tried to go to his side but then staggered back like they had been pushed. Tobias then straightened and looked at Piper, his own eyes glowing gold now. She felt like she had been punched. One of her visions had come true, and it was not symbolic.

_"This body is much stronger than his," _Tobias gestured at Leo's form. "_And it has some..."_

He grunted again and staggered back, hitting the wall with his shoulder. Piper saw his eyes flickering between three colors like a Las Vegas slot machine. Silver, gold, and white. She felt something pulse through the air before Tobias gasped and Leo's eyes opened, gold again and looking shocked.

"My body...is off limits..." Tobias painted with a growl hiding underneath the words as he looked up to show eyes with iris of pure white before they faded back to silver. Leo got to his feet and looked at Tobias again, shock faintly visible on his face and the face of the other two.

_"What are you?" _Jason asked.

"Something you can never possess." Tobias snarled. "And you _will_ listen to Piper." He looked at her and nodded, his expression clear: _Try again. You _can _do this._

Piper mustered all her courage. She had felt like her plan had been spiraling out of control when the switch had happened, but seeing that the spirits could be cast away solidified her resolve. She looked straight at Jason, staring into the eyes of the thing that was controlling him. "You will leave those bodies," Piper repeated, even more forcefully.

Jason's face tightened. His forehead beaded with sweat. _"We- we will leave these bodies."_

"You will vow on the River Styx never to return to this ship, and never to posses any member of this crew."

Leo and Percy both hissed in protest.

"You will promise on the River Styx." Piper insisted.

A moment of tension- she could feel their wills fighting against hers. Then all three eidolons spoke in unison: _"We promise on the River Styx._

"You are dead," Piper said.

_"We are dead," _they agreed.

"Now leave."

All three boys slumped forward. Percy fell face-first into his pizza.

"Percy!" Annabeth grabbed him.

Piper and Hazel caught Jason's arms as he slipped out of his chair. Leo would've hit the ground again if Tobias didn't lift his right hand and stop him before lowering him to the floor. He then slid down the wall to sit on the floor with his eyes shut tight.

"Are you ok?" Yahan asked as she and Kazehana knelt next to him in worry.

"I'm fine. But I've got a killer headache." He groaned as he pressed a hand to his temple.

Leo pulled himself up off the floor. "Did it work?"

"It worked," Piper said, feeling pretty sure she was right. "I don't think they'll be back."

Jason blinked. "Does that mean I can stop getting head injuries now?"

Piper laughed, exhaling all her nervousness. "Come on, Lightning Boy. Let's get you some fresh air."

* * *

_**Tobias**_

While the two demigods went on deck to get some fresh air, Tobias went to the medical bay to grab some aspirin to help with his headache. Headache didn't even really cover it, since that implied a throb or dull ache of some kind. _This _headache felt like somebody was taking hammers wrapped in barbwire and playing whack-a-mole inside his cerebral cortex. Thankful the girls were being respectful and keeping their links with him at a bare minimum so they didn't add to his headache.

One of the few other time he had felt this bad was when he had been guilted into drinking and then accidently destroyed the bar when he had lost control of his powers. Long story, don't ask.

Now he was once again laying in the cargo hold(Leo still didn't have a better place for them to sleep, but he wasn't complaining at the moment) alone, trying to see if he could feel the pain in his head go away. So far, he could not.

Despite the pain, he was tired from the days events and getting possessed and ready to drift off to sleep...

_**RING RING RING! RING RING RING! RING RING RING!**_

"Ahhh!" Tobias was jerked out of his doze when the loud ringtone exuberated his headache and forced him to wake up. He then groaned and rubbed his eyes. "Oh, who the hell is calling me now!?" He growled angrily before looking at the bracelet/gauntlet on his wrist. The screen was flashing with every repetition of _**RING.**_ He tapped a few buttons on the number pad, accepting the call. The screen shot up a cone of light and a mini tornado of stars whirled inside the light before the coalesced into a form.

The hologram had formed a teenager around his age, but that was where the similarities stopped. His hair was a curly black and cut close to the scalp, his skin a lighter shade of brown, but he wasn't full African American. He also had a small dose of Hispanic thrown in there to give him an exotic look. His clothes were typical teenager clothes, red shirt, black hoodie, a worn pair of jeans, and Converse sneakers. His eyes were light brown and had childish excitement in them.

In other words, he was Leo with better clothes and taller.

_"Tobias! How you doing, I hadn't talked with you in a while and I was bored so I figured 'hey, why not call up my stepbrother and see how he was doing?' "_

"Dante, I swear, I will kill you the next time I see you!" Tobias snarled angrily.

_"Uh-oh, sounds like someone got up on the wrong side of the bed. Or did Kazehana and Yahan put you in the doghouse?"_

"No, for your information, I am not 'in the doghouse,' " Tobias made quotes around the words with one hand. "What I am is tired and pissed off because I have a killer headache from almost being possessed and I was about to fall asleep when you call and make my damn headache even worse!" Tobias tended to be more fluent in his swearing when he properly angered.

The childish excitement faded from Dante's eyes to be replaced by seriousness. _"You were almost possessed? By what?"_

Tobias groaned as he rubbed his eyes. He should just hang up now, but if he did then Dante would just keep calling over and over until he got answers. "An eidolon."

_"Oh, you're in _that _universe!? Great, I loved going there. Oh, wait, have you meet the crew yet? Hazel was pretty sweet once you get her out of her shell, Percy was a bit of a runaway mouth, but oh he was a great friend. Annabeth was great to chat with, always had a good conversation with her, and Leo, oh, the ideas we came up with...!"_

_"_Ok, ok, ok, ok, ok, ok, ok, ok, just shut up!" Tobias shouted over him, as Dante's rambling was driving a railroad spike into his head and making his headache somehow even worse. He groaned and pressed a hand to his temples again. "I'm sorry, but forcing that damn spirit out of my head really did a number on me."

"_Right, failed possession tends to do that to a person, sorry." _Dante apologized, scratching the back of his head. _"So, uh...what's been going on so far?"_

"Well, we just met Bacchus in Kansas and are currently on a course to Atlanta to talk with some son of Gaea named Phorcys. And we kicked three eidolons off the ship just a little while ago."

_"So you still haven't gotten to the big stuff yet?"_

"Not yet. But things are going pretty fast, and I think they trust me."

_"That's good, but I'm not surprised. They're all good people, I'm not surprised they trusted you considering how you are."_

Tobias narrowed his eyes. "Was that a insult?"

"_I don't know, was it?" _Dante asked, smiling innocently. Tobias grunted and didn't reply. _"So what did you bring with you anyways?"_

"My sword, vortex manipulator, the clothes you made me, plus a few other things here and there."

_"Well sounds like you came prepared. Which is good, since you'll be fighting some strong opponents."_

Tobias smiled, but this smile wasn't like his regular ones. Instead of being a smile of friendship, or comfort, or love...this was the smile of a predator. "I'm counting on it. I haven't been able to cut loose since me and the girls went back home. Now...I want to see how far I've come since then against things I'll have no problem killing."

Dante smirked and gave a two fingered salute. _"Then I pity the poor bastard that makes it so you bring out all your strength. I guess I'll say sayonara for now then. But before I do, promise me one thing."_

"What?"

_"Be sure to give Octavian a punch in the face for me."_

Tobias laughed, the predatory look vanishing like it hadn't been there. "Done, I was planning to give him a punch anyways."

"_Adios." _The hologram flickered and faded as the light cone condensed into a beam and vanished. Tobias sighed and laid back down, yawning as he did. Time to get some sleep, because if there was one thing he had learned in his short time here, it was you never knew what was going to happen next.

* * *

"Ok, this is new." Tobias said as he looked at the ground a mile or so below him. He knew he had lucid dreams but he rarely had ones that started with him off the ground. Right now it looked like he was above Kansas, looking at a sunflower field next to a highway. But he was so high up the sunflower field was a blanket of yellow with flecks of brown mixed in and the road was a thin black line. As he looked at the horizon, he saw the hills and fields were like frozen waves in a endless and color filled ocean. He felt like he was looking at things from a god's perspective.

_"It's different, seeing how beings of such power see things, isn't it?"_

Tobias snapped his gaze back down at the sleepy and familiar voice. The fields were folding and changing until they made the shape of a sleeping woman's face.

"Gaea." Tobias snarled. "I don't recall giving you permission to stick your nose in my dreams."

_"Calm yourself child. I am not here to harm you," _Gaea replied in a soothing tone.

Tobias crossed his arms. "Then state your business and then get out of my head."

The face twisted into a sleepy smile. _"I must say, you surprise me, Tobias Song. I sensed much power hidden inside you when we met on that highway, and my eidolons...very impressive to repel one after it had gained hold of your body."_

"I'm hearing a lot of stuff I already know, get to your point." Tobias snapped.

_"Very well. Why do you fight me?"_

"You mean to end Western Civilization as we know it and killed every god, mortal, and demigod that walks across your skin. I happen to take offense to that."

_"Ah, but surely you must see how diseased and tainted 'Western Civilization' has become. You see how petty the gods are, always bickering with each other and ignoring their children as they die, hunted down by monsters."_

"You aren't a good role model either, Gaea. You ignored the war between the gods and Titans twice, once when Kronos was overthrown by Zeus and the second time when he tried to make a comeback in Manhattan. And the gods and their children are you grandchildren, yet you mean to kill them and let the giants take over." Tobias snarled.

_"Perhaps, but I sense you are reasonable. You must know that stopping my rise this time is impossible, that I will rise as surely as time passes, regardless of what others may wish was different."_

"The Prophecy of Seven says differently."

_"It says that to storm or fire the world must fall. Your world is doomed, regardless of what you believe or may try."_

_"_So what, you're calling me to tell me that I'm going to die regardless of my powers and skills?"

_"If you continue down this path, then you yes, you will die. But, that does not have to happen."_

Tobias narrowed his eyes and let his arms drop to his side. "I'm listening."

_"It is very simple. Don't fight against me. Join me and stop this foolish quest to sail to Rome. Kill your crew mates and I will grant you and your lovers a place of honor in the new world. I sense your bonds with them and your mutual love. Very touching."_

Tobias growled deep in his throat while slamming mental barriers into place. Now that he was looking for it, he sensed Gaea had been slowly poking around in his head as they talked, looking through his recent memories and examining his links with Yahan and Kazehana.

"Those bonds are off limits to everyone, Gaea! Even you!" The air around him started to swirl, responding to his anger.

_"I meant no harm," _Gaea responded calmly. _"But you must see I offer you something many would gladly kill for. Simply stop the Argo II and I will make you and your lovers gods. You will never die, never want for anything. You can live forever in a utopia."_

She presented a compelling argument and in such a sympathetic and seductive tone that almost anyone would gladly take the offer. But Tobias wasn't most people. He knew Gaea was trying to persuade him to her side because he scared her. Plus, immortality had no appeal to him since he didn't see it as a blessing. He saw it as a curse.

"I already live in a utopia, Gaea. One of my own making, and I have no desire to live forever." Tobias lifted his arms above his head, drawing more and more air to him. "You think I would be selfish and save myself while I let you kill six billion people? You think I don't see through your words? You're attempting to turn me not because I'm reasonable, but because you're scared of me and my girls."

_"You are but specks of dust in a grand scheme. You are nothing to fear." _Gaea's face stopped smiling and turned into a slight frown, like she was having an unpleasant dream.

Tobias smiled evilly as the air started making a twister. "No, we scare you and we scare you very much. We are unknowns, pieces that you don't not know and therefore cannot predict. We have no weakness for you to exploit, we have powers you don't not understand how we are able to have, and in such quantities you are stunned. You have good reason to be afraid Gaea, because we will not stop until you are placed into your slumber again and your giants defeated. Now..." Tobias roared as the sunflowers and other crops suddenly bent towards him in the intense and powerful winds that twisted around him, into a giant and blackened tornado. "GET OUT, OF MY, HEAD!"

The twister ripped up the ground where Gaea's face was, ripping chunks the size of houses from the earth in the devastating face of such raw power. The dirt covered Tobias's eyes and he couldn't see through the black soil.

* * *

Tobias took a sharp breath as he woke up. A quick look showed Yahan and Kazehana both beside him, eyes closed and faces untroubled. He took a breath as he laid his head down again and looked at the dark ceiling.

"Bring it on, Dirt Face." He whispered into the blackness.

**A/N: And that's six done. Next chapter will skip over some stuff because I won't be changing it and I see no reason to write what I won't be influencing, so just a heads up. Also, I'm starting college soon so updates will slow down as I start my classes. Favorite and review and I'll see you next time!**

**P.S. I own nothing but my OC**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Tobias**_

A few hours later it was time to get up, so Tobias woke up both girls and they went through their morning rituals before heading to the mess hall. They stopped outside the door when they heard shouting in the room.

"Never in my life! Against the rules! Irresponsible!" They could hear Coach Hedge shouting and he sounded very angry.

"Wonder what's got that goat all riled up?" Kazehana asked.

"Let's find out." Tobias opened the door. "Good morning everyone. Did we miss something?"

He looked at everyone but the atmosphere wasn't tense, more like...embarrassed? Jason and Piper didn't look that bothered. Leo was grinning nonstop like he found something amusing. Frank was keeping his head down. Hazel was blushing slightly and fanning her face with her hand. Coach Hedge was...well, Coach Hedge plus a bit more anger than normal. Percy and Annabeth were both looking slightly embarrassed and short tempered respectfully.

"Oh, it's really great," Leo started talking like he was doing a movie pitch. "So, we woke up this morning and these two aren't in their rooms." He pointed at Annabeth and Percy. "We search the whole ship, top to bottom, can't find them and we're thinking they've been kidnapped or something, we don't know. Then, Frank finds these two down in the stables asleep and all cuddled up. They spent _all_ night there."

"Awww, that's so cute." Yahan said sweetly as they all sat down on their 'air chairs.'

"And it was completely irresponsible!" Coach Hedge shouted. "They should've stayed in their rooms..."

"Coach," Annabeth snapped. "It was an accident. We were talking, and we fell asleep."

"What warrants sneaking out of your rooms in the middle of the night to talk?" Tobias asked while snagging a plate for him and the others.

"How about we all eat, then swap stories?" Percy suggested.

Hedge fumed. "Fine! But I'm watching you, Jackson. And you, Annabeth chase, I thought you had more sense-"

Jason cleared his throat. "So, grab so food everyone. And, let's get started."

After everyone was eating, Percy brought them up to speed. Apparently last night he had had a dream about Nico and their giants. In the dream, the giants were planning a reception for them in a underground parking lot with rocket launchers and Nico was trapped in a bronze jar, slowly dying of asphyxiation with five pomegranate seeds at his feet.

Hazel choked back a sob. "Nico...oh gods. The seeds."

"You know what they are?" Annabeth asked.

Hazel nodded. "He showed them to me once. They're from our stepmother's garden."

"Your step...oh." Percy said. "You mean Persephone."

"Goddess of springtime, wife of Hades." Tobias explained quickly to the girls and they both nodded.

"The seeds are a last resort food," Hazel explained. Tobias could tell she was nervous because all the silverware on the table was starting to move towards her. "Only children of Hades can eat them. Nico always kept some in case he got stuck somewhere. But if he's really imprisoned-"

"The giants are trying to lure us," Annabeth said. "They're assuming we'll try to rescue him."

"Well they're right!" Hazel looked around the table, her confidence apparently crumbling. "Won't we?"

"I don't get something," Yahan leaned forwards. "He apparently has an ability similar to mine, he can travel through shadows. Why doesn't he just get out using that?"

"Magic I'm guessing," Tobias grimaced. "Almost every power can be countered as long as you have the right tools at your disposal. Hazel, how long can Nico hold out with those seeds?"

"One seed a day," Hazel said miserably. "That's if he puts himself in a death trance."

"That doesn't sound pleasant." Yahan commented.

"It keeps him from consuming all his air, like hibernation or a coma." Hazel explained. "One seed can sustain him for one day, barely."

"And he has five seeds left," Percy said. "That's five days, including today. The giants must've planned it that way, so we have to arrive by July first. Assuming Nico is hidden somewhere in Rome..."

"We don't have a lot of time." Piper summed up. She put her hand on Hazel's shoulder. "We'll find him. At least we know what the lines of the prophecy mean now. 'Twins snuff out the angel's breath, who holds the key to endless death.' Your brothers last name, di Angelo. Angelo is Italian for 'angle.'"

"Oh gods," Hazel muttered. "Nico..."

"Don't worry, we'll rescue him." Tobias comforted her. "We _have _to. The prophecy says he holds the key to endless death, and...he's your brother."

"He's right," Piper said encouragingly. "Hazel, your brother went searching for the Doors of Death in the Underworld, right? He must've found them."

"He can tell us where the doors are and how to close them." Percy nodded.

Hazel took a deep breath. "Yes. Good."

"Uh..." Leo shifted in his chair. "One thing. The giants are expecting us to do this, right? So we're walking into a trap?"

Hazel looked at Leo like he had just made a rude gesture. "We have no choice!"

"Don't get me wrong Hazel. It's just that your brother, Nico...he knew about both camps, right?"

Tobias narrowed his eyes, not liking where this conversation was going. "What are you suggesting, Leo?"

Leo shifted uncomfortably under the question and gaze. "Well, he's been going back and forth between the camps, but he didn't tell either side."

Jason sat forward, his expression grim. "You're wondering if we can trust the guy. So am I."

Tobias clenched a fist. Hazel shot to her feet. "I don't believe this. He's my _brother._ He brought me back from the Underworld, and you don't want to help him?"

Frank put a hand on her shoulder. "Nobody's saying that." He then proceeded to glare at Leo. "Nobody had _better _be saying that."

Leo blinked. "Look, guys. All I mean is-"

"Hazel," Jason said. "Leo is raising a fair point. I remember Nico from Camp Jupiter. Now I find out he also visited Camp Half-Blood. That does strike me as...well, a little shady. Do we really know where his loyalties lie? We just have to be careful."

Hazels arms shook. A silver platter zoomed towards her and hit the wall to her left, splattering scrambled eggs. "You...the _great _Jason Grace...the praetor I looked up to. You were supposed to be so fair, such a good leader. And now..." She stomped her foot and stormed out of the mess hall.

"Hazel!" Leo called after her. "Aw, jeez. I should-"

"You've done enough." Frank growled. He got up to follow her, but Hazel gestured for him to wait.

"Give her time," Piper advised. Then she frowned at Leo and Jason. "You guys, that _was _pretty cold."

Jason looked shocked. "Cold? I'm just being cautious!"

"That does not matter." Tobias growled, drawing everyone's attention to him. "It may be a trap, but you do not turn your back on family, and that is what you were suggesting. Whether you meant that or not is irrelevant." He stood up then left the room, leaving everyone blinking.

"What's his problem?" Leo asked Yahan and Kazehana. They both glared at him, which made him sink into his chair.

"Let's just say Tobias is touchy when it comes to abandoning family members." Yahan said in a cold tone. That put a rather awkward pause in their conversation until a whirring sound like a large drill came from above.

"Um, that's Festus," Leo said. "I've got him on autopilot, but we must be nearing Atlanta. I'll have to get up there...uh, assuming we know where to land."

* * *

Tobias walked along the deck, taking some deep breaths to calm himself. He knew he shouldn't have done that talking to the others like that, but...he was sensitive when it came to abandoning family members to die.

He closed his eyes and put both hands on the banister. He then let his senses expand, feeling the flow and presence of air around the ship. He couldn't get over how much power he could feel in the surrounding atmosphere, like a low level electric buzz. He guessed that was from the godly power in the States, but still...he was used to feeling air flowing like water, calm and serene. Here it was like feeling a ocean of power dispersed in the air, plus he wasn't the only one controlling the substance. Here there were beings with power that could override his own.

He felt the ship start descending slightly and opened his eyes to see a city he assumed was Atlanta. It was a cluster of brown and silver downtown, an endless flat sprawl of highways, little lines that he thought were railroad tracks, houses, and green swathes of forest.

"Hey." He looked behind him to see Yahan lifting out of his shadow. She looked and 'felt' slightly worried. "You ok?"

"Yeah, yeah." Tobias took a breath. "Sorry, but I had to get some air."

"I know." She leaned against the banister next to him and looked out at the city. "The others are coming up. Percy, Frank, and Hedge are going to find this...what was his name?"

"Phorcys."

"Right, him. They're going to go look for him while the rest of us stay here." She looked at him. "You want to go with them?"

He smirked and put an arm around her shoulder. Just having his girlfriends close cheered him up most of the time. "Nah. I was thinking maybe once we set down, we could find a quiet place and do some sparring. We haven't done that in a while."

Yahan smiled and put her head on his shoulder. "I'd like that. And Leo was told to land us in a park with some woods anyways, so that'll be easy enough."

"Speak of the devil, here he comes." Tobias noted as Leo came from below decks and ran up to the wheel, taking it. In a few minutes they were landing on the summit of a forested hill. A complex of white buildings, maybe a museum or university, nestled in a grove of pines to the left. Below was the city of Atlanta.

Percy, Frank, and Coach Hedge had joined them on deck. The satyr took a deep breath of the morning air.

"Ah, lovely spot. Good choice, Valdez."

Leo shrugged. "I just picked a tall hill. That's a presidential library or something over there. At least that's what Festus says."

"I don't care about that!" Hedge barked. "But do you realize what happened on this hill? Frank Zhang, you should know!"

Frank flinched. "I should?"

"A son of Ares stood here!" Hedge cried indignantly.

"I'm Roman...so Mars actually."

"Whatever! Famous spot in the American Civil War!

"I'm Canadian."

"Coach, stop shouting before you give yourself a heart attack." Tobias sighed, which made the satyr sputter in shock and Leo snort. "The event Coach is talking about is when General Sherman, a Union leader, stood on this spot. He watched the city of Atlanta burn from here. Cut a path of destruction from here all the way to the sea." He took a breath, looking out at the view. He could almost see it now.

"I see someone knows his history! Now _that_ was a demigod." Coach Hedge nodded.

Frank inched away from the satyr. "Uh, okay."

"Anyway," Percy said. "Let's not burn the city down this time."

The coach looked disappointed. "All right. But where to?"

Percy pointed downtown. "When in doubt, start in the middle."

The group left the ship and started walking towards the city.

"Good luck!" Tobias called after them and watched until they were out of sight. He took a breath. "Ok then. Hey, Leo."

The mechanic flinched slightly. "Yeah?"

"Does Festus know of any small clearings that are close?"

Leo blinked before Festus clicked and clacked to him. "Uh, he says there's one a few hundred yards that way." He pointed into the wooded areas opposite of the library "Why?"

"Well, me and my girlfriend are going to go do some light sparring," Tobias explained while pulling Yahan closer. "We just needed an area we can use. See ya." They both walked down the plank.

"Wait, you can just go off alone!" Leo protested as they started walking towards the woods.

"Then tell the others to come with, it's not like there's anything else to do!" Tobias called back before pushing aside a branch and bowing at the waist to Yahan. "After you."

Yahan grinned. "Why, thank you." She took the lead and they both walked into the woods.

A few minutes of brushing aside branches and walking and they came to a small clearing, just like Festus had said. It was about thirty yards in diameter and was overgrown with tall grass up to their knees.

"Hhmm," Yahan hummed as she crossed her arms. "A bit overgrown, don't you think?"

"Yep. Hang on a minute." Tobias clapped his palms together then knelt, slamming them into the ground. There was a sharp _whoosh, _then all the grass collapsed to make a inch high bedding. The bottom of all the grass stalks were cleanly cut. "There we go." He brushed off his hands.

"You never run out of tricks do you?" Yahan asked with a chuckle as they walked to the center of the clearing.

"Oh, Yahan, you know me." Tobias wrapped his arms around her and whispered into her ear. "I always have more tricks."

He felt her shiver slightly and some arousal snuck through their mental bond. Now that he thought about, this was the first time they had truly been alone since they had arrived on the _Argo II._ He really needed to give her and Kazehana a bit more attention than he had in the past few days. Or maybe a lot more attention.

"And now we start." The train of thought was cut short as Yahan grabbed his right arm and ducked, throwing him over her shoulder with more strength than her frame would suggest. Tobias rightened himself in mid-air and skidded back, the cut grass making it hard to get his footing before he stopped. He looked up and blocked a right kick with his forearm.

"Oh, you are in trouble now, Yahan." He said with a evil smirk as he pushed her away. She stopped herself and they both took a stance with ten yards of space between them. "But before we really start, we need some ground rules. No weapons, no powers, and no fighting dirty."

"Done." Yahan quipped.

"Then get ready...get set..."

"What are you two doing?"

They both blinked and looked back where they had come from to see Annabeth with her hands on her hips, eyes stormy. Kazehana, Leo, and Jason were behind her.

"Having a spar." Tobias said, straightening.

"Why?" She asked shortly.

Tobias shrugged. "Me and Yahan do a spar here and there, haven't done one for a while and I thought she'd like that."

"Hey Tobias," Yahan spoke up, getting his attention. "This isn't fighting dirty." She then charged and attempted a right hook which he dodged quickly. She kept pushing her advantage as he backed up and dodged.

* * *

"Shouldn't we stop them?" Jason asked nobody in particular.

"No, don't bother," Kazehana crossed her arms and smiled as Tobias grabbed Yahan's arm and used her momentum to throw her past him. "This is a pastime of theirs. They keep each other's skills sharp and they get to enjoy the other's company."

Leo winced as Tobias drove a fist into Yahan's right side then kicked her legs out from under her. She rolled to the side and got to her feet before blocking a haymaker. "If this is how they enjoy each other's company, I'd hate to see them fighting."

"Don't be, we're all tougher then we look and heal fast. Any bruises they have will be gone in an hour at most, anything else in a day. Broken bones heal naturally in a week for us." Kazehana explained. After that, the small group just watched Tobias and Yahan spar.

* * *

Yahan tried a high kick but her leg was blocked and then grabbed. Tobias pushed it to put Yahan off balance and then tackled her around the waist. They wrestled for a few minutes before Tobias finally managed to pin her to the ground. He was straddling her while holding both arms above her head.

Yahan blew some hair out of her face. "Cheater," she said calmly.

Tobias lifted an eyebrow. "How did I cheat? You made the first move and took me by surprise when the others came."

"Simple. You had to be you."

Tobias opened his mouth then closed it. "Failing to see the logic there."

"Well you being you means that I'm distracted every time you throw a punch or kick because of how fit you are, then that leads to other thoughts, and then... Well you get the idea."

Tobias stared at her for a few seconds. "You're messing with my head aren't you?" He finally asked.

His response was a smirk before Yahan sank into her shadow and left Tobias on the ground. He was then tackled from behind and his right arm twisted behind his back.

"Yes I am." Was whispered into his ear.

"I thought we agreed no powers." Tobias grunted.

"I lied."

Tobias clicked his tongue. "You've have been spending too much time around River. But if that's the way you want to play it..."

Yahan was blasted off his back as what felt like a fist hit her in the chest with the force of a truck. Tobias heard her hit the ground and got up, shaking out his arm as he turned.

"Then let's play."

* * *

"Is this still normal?" Annabeth asked Kazehana as the two fighters started using their powers. Yahan had gotten up from the ground and started charging before being thrown backwards and skidding across the ground.

"It's rare, but they do sometimes do spars like this. It never ends well for Yahan though."

* * *

Tobias watched as Yahan picked herself up and brush some cut grass out of her hair. She then turned and ran into the woods.

"Evil little thing aren't you." Tobias muttered under his breath as he watched her go, but didn't make a move to stop her. She never won this spars, but she did get some creative ideas.

He then felt something hit him, hard, in the back of his head.

"Ow!" He rubbed the spot and looked to see what had hit him. He didn't see anything from the woods, but when he looked down he spotted a rock the size of a golf ball. "Rocks? That's a new low for her." He said, not as quietly as somebody who was insulting their girlfriend should.

"Hey, I heard that! Wait...oh crap."

Tobias sent two Air Hands where he heard the indignant shout and ended up grabbing Yahan. He dragged her out and had her held a inch off the ground so she couldn't use the shadows to get away.

"Yield?" He asked.

Yahan sighed in frustration. "Yield."

Tobias set her down on the ground. He grabbed the rock she had thrown at him and tossed it up and down. "Rocks? Seriously?"

"I didn't have anything better on me," Yahan defended herself with a slight blush. "And you know most of my other tricks."

"True. I guess this was creative and unexpected." He tossed the rock over his shoulder. "Want to head back?"

"Sure. This wasn't as much fun as I thought it would be. Still nice though." She added as an afterthought.

"Good to hear that. Shall we?" He offered her his hand.

"Of course." She smiled before taking the hand. They walked towards the group, ignoring the contemplative looks they were getting from Jason and Annabeth,and a awed one from Leo. Kazehana silently took his other hand and left with them.

Once they were out of earshot of the others, Kazehana spoke up.

"That was very smooth."

Tobias looked at her. "What are you talking about?"

She smirked. "Don't play innocent Tobias, it doesn't suit you. You invited the others along so they could see more of your skills and let them get a hint of just how strong you are."

Tobias stared at her for a few seconds before shrugging.

"It's good to show they can trust us. Plus I did want a spar with Yahan anyways, this just hit me as we were walking down the plank."

"Well, look at you. Before you didn't come up with ideas like that," Yahan bumped shoulders with him playfully.

"I've learned to think on my feet." Tobias responded as they walked out of the woods. "And you missed some grass."

"Hmm?" Yahan brushed her free hand through her hair and picked out a small handful from the back of it. "Oh, Thanks. So, how long we were doing that anyways?"

"I'd say..." Kazehana took a look at the suns position. "Ten minutes at most."

"And Percy and the others have a city to look through until they find Phorcys." Tobias sighed. "Either of you have any ideas to pass the time?"

"I have one." Kazehana spoke up.

* * *

"You really have improved since I first met you." Tobias complimented while tossing another rock into the air only for it to stop in mid-air.

"Thanks to you. If I didn't meet you, I never would've thought to try and get this kind of control."

Kazehana's suggestion to pass time was to do some training of her own. What her training entitled was using her own powers to float several rocks around her. Including the one Tobias had just thrown, she was currently hovering thirteen and moving them in a circle around her while sitting on the deck of the _Argo II. _So far they had been doing this for about an hour, just talking while Kazehana didn't her training. The reason she only had a few rocks now was because whenever she missed one she insisted on starting all over again.

"Still, you're the one who's doing this. You should be proud." Tobias complimented her. "I was a bit surprised when you suggested this though."

"What do you mean?" Yahan was leaning against the railings and reading a book that she had brought with them. The other crew members did wonder where she had gotten it.

"Knowing Kazehana, I figured the idea she had was something besides this." Tobias tossed another rock in the air. It joined its brethren and started moving slowly in a circle.

"Oh really? Like what?" Kazehana asked innocently but the effect was ruined by the smile on her face.

"Three guesses." Tobias was not going to play her game.

"Three guesses," Yahan closed her book but kept her thumb in to mark her place. "Let's see...were you thinking she meant reading?"

"No."

"Ok. How about... No, training wouldn't work, you already said you weren't expecting this," Yahan made a face as she said that. "So, not reading, training, so that leaves..."

"Yep." Kazehana smirked.

"You know, we _could _do that." Yahan said thoughtfully while grinning at Tobias. "We just need someplace private..."

"I'm going to stop you two right there." Tobias threw another rock into the air. "We are not doing that on this ship with the others here."

"Well, didn't you bring those sound proofing discs with you?" Kazehana asked innocently.

"No I did not." Tobias lied through his teeth. He knew exactly what act these two were suggesting and he was not going to do it. Even if they were making it sound very tempting and starting to leak arousal through their bonds to influence him.

"Liar." Yahan smirked.

Sadly the bonds were a two way street and they had mastered the art of telling when he was lying with it. And the smirks on both their faces was not encouraging for this conversation. Thankfully it was interrupted when they heard feet thundering the plank. They all looked to see Percy, Frank, and Coach Hedge running up. The two demigods looked like they had gone for a swim since their hair was wet, but their clothes were also damp and stiff. Hedge was also missing his shoes.

"What the heck happened to you?" Tobias asked while a clatter told him Kazehana had dropped the stones.

He didn't get an answer but Frank kept running and headed below decks while Percy and Coach Hedge both collapsed and lay on the deck, looking exhausted. Now that he looked closer, Percy was covered in nicks and scratches like he had jumped through a window. Coach was just grinning at the sky while muttering, "Awesome, Awesome."

Tobias was met by the same confused looks from Yahan and Kazehana when he looked at them.

* * *

Ten minutes later, they were sailing through the sky as fast as they could while Percy and the others filled them in on their little adventure on the quarterdeck. It turned out Phorcys had been hiding in a aquarium and had been awfully helpful for a while, telling them about a map in Charleston, where they were heading now. After that, he had predictably trapped them inside a giant goldfish bowl of seawater, where they would've been forced to fight each other for shows. Coach Hedge, who had been getting a tour of dangerous sea monsters by the goddess of sea monsters Keto, had found them and helped them break out before they ran all the way back to the ship.

Percy also explained that they had been holding several sea creatures captive and drugged for entertainment, which explained why he looked so upset.

"That's terrible," Annabeth said. "We need to help them."

"We will," Percy promised. "In time. But I have to figure out _how._ I wish..." He shook his head. "Never mind. First, we have to deal with this bounty on our heads."

That was another thing. Apparently Gaea had put a bounty on each and everyone of their heads, so monsters would be gunning for them for that as well. Coach had lost interest in the conversation at some point and was now wandering towards the bow of the ship, practicing his roundhouse kick and complimenting himself on his technique.

Annabeth gripped the hilt of her dagger while making a sour face. "A bounty on our heads...as if we didn't attract enough monsters already."

"Do we get wanted posters?" Leo asked from the control panel, since he was navigating them. "And do the have our bounties, like, broken down on a price list?"

Tobias sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Leo, what is with you and coming up with absurd ideas?"

"Hey, I can't help it they just pop into my head," Leo said. "Besides, I'm curious how much I'm going for these days. I mean, I can understand not being as pricey as Percy or Jason, maybe...but am I worth, like, two Franks or three Franks?"

"Hey!" Frank complained.

"Knock it off." Annabeth order. "At least we know our next step is to go to Charleston and find this map."

Piper leaned against the control panel. She'd done her braid with white feathers today, which contrasted nicely with her dark hair. Guess Tobias knew what she done waiting for the others to get back.

"A map," Piper said. "But a map to what?"

"The Mark of Athena." Percy looked cautiously at Annabeth, and Tobias didn't blame him. Her eyes were stormy and she was suddenly put out a strong vibe that said: _I don't want to talk about it._

"What ever it is," he kept going. "We know it leads to something important in Rome, something that might heal the rift between the Romans and the Greeks."

_"The giants' bane,"_Hazel added.

"Um..." Frank rolled some Chinese handcuffs that he had gotten from the aquariums gift shop between his fingers. "According to Phorcys, we'd have to be insane to try and find it. But what is _it?"_

Tobias studied Annabeth as everyone turned to her. It looked like he mind was going a mile a minute, but she also looked uneasy. The Mark of Athena was something of importance to her, but it seemed to have a double meaning.

"I-I'm close to an answer," she said. "I'll know more if we can find this map. Jason, the way you reacted to the name _Charleston..._ Have you been there before?"

Jason glanced uneasily at Piper, and Tobias had a feeling this story involved Renya.

"Yeah," he admitted. "Renya and I did a quest there about a year ago. We were salvaging Imperial gold weapons for the C.S.S. _Hunley."_

"That was the first successful military submarine from the Civil War. I've seen that before, on a trip with my mother." Tobias spoke up. Technically it was true, but he had seen it when it was...newer.

"It was designed by Roman demigods," Jason said. It held a secret stash of imperial gold torpedoes- until we rescued them and brought them back to Camp Jupiter."

Hazel crossed her arms. "So the Romans fought on the Confederate side? As a girl whose grandmother was a slave, can I just said...not cool?"

Jason held his hands up. "I personally wasn't alive then. And it wasn't _all _Greeks on one side and _all _Romans on the other. But yes. Not cool. Sometimes demigods make bad choices." He looked sheepishly at Hazel. "Like sometimes we're too suspicious. And we speak without thinking."

Hazel stared at him. Slowly it dawned on her that he was apologizing. Jason then elbowed Leo

"Ow!" He yelped. "I mean, yeah...bad choices. Like not trusting people's brothers who, you know, might need saving. Hypothetically speaking."

"Do you have any ideas on where this map might be in Charleston Jason?" Tobias spoke up, wanting to hurry things along.

Jason shrugged. "Well...I can think of _two_ places we can check. The museum where they kept the _Hunley_- that's one of them. It has a lot of relics from the Civil War, maybe a map is hidden in one of them. I can lead a team inside, I know the layout."

"I'll go," Leo volunteered. "Sounds cool."

Jason nodded. He turned to Frank, who was trying to pull his fingers out of the Chinese handcuffs. "You should come too Frank. We might need you."

Frank looked surprised. "Why? Not like I was much good at that aquarium."

"You did fine," Percy assured him. "It took all three of us to break that glass."

"Besides, you're a child of Mars," Jason said. "The ghosts of defeated causes are bound to serve you. And the museum in Charleston has _plenty _of Confederate ghosts. We'll need you to keep them in line."

Frank gulped. Tobias wondered how a guy that big and strong could be that uncertain of himself. Granted, he looked like a giant teddy bear at times but still, he should have more confidence in himself.

"Okay," Frank relented. "Sure." He frowned at his fingers, trying to pull them out of the trap. "Uh, how do you-?"

Leo chuckled. "Man, you've never seen those before? There's a simple trick to getting out."

Frank tried again with no luck. Even Hazel was trying not to laugh. He then grimaced with concentration and disappeared. On the deck where he'd been standing, a green iguana crouched next to a empty set of Chinese handcuffs.

"Well done, Frank Zhang," Leo said in a old, wise voice. "That is exactly how people beat Chinese handcuffs. They turn into iguanas."

Everyone burst out laughing except Tobias, but he did find the situation amusing and chuckled quietly. Frank turned back into himself, picked up the handcuffs, and shoved them into the backpack next to him. He managed an embarrassed smile.

"So," Tobias gave the demigod a break by changing the subject. "Jason, what's the other place you mentioned?"

Jason's smile faded. Whatever he was thinking about, Tobias could tell it wasn't pleasant.

"Yeah," he said. "The other place is called the Battery- it's a park right next to the harbor. I was there...with Renya..." He looked at Piper, then rushed on. "We saw something in the park. A ghost, or some sort of spirit, like a Southern belle from the Civil War, floating along and glowing. We tried to approach it, but whenever we got close it disappeared. Then Renya had this thought, that it would only talk to a girl. She went up to the spirit herself, and sure enough, it spoke to her."

Everyone waited, but he didn't speak up. Then Yahan asked, "What did it say?"

"I don't know," Jason admitted. "Renya wouldn't tell me, but it must've been important. She seemed shaken up. Maybe she had gotten a prophecy or bad news, but she never acted the same way around me after that."

Tobias had a sneaking suspicion he knew what that spirit was. If he was right, maybe it could be a interesting experience. While he couldn't meet her, maybe Kazehana and Yahan would like too.

"A girls' adventure then," Annabeth said. "Piper and Hazel can come with me."

Both girls nodded, but Hazel looked nervous. No doubt her time in Underworld had given her enough ghost experience for two life times. Pipers eyes flashed defiantly, like she could do anything Renya could do.

"Can me and Yahan come with?" Kazehana asked, drawing everyone's attention. She shrugged. "We haven't really done anything interesting here last time, so this might be a good outing."

Annabeth hesitated for a second. Tobias guessed despite their actions so far, she was still reluctant to trust them. Despite that, she slowly nodded. Tobias then realized with the girls all gone and Jason leading a group of three, it would be him, Percy, and Coach Hedge guarding the ship. He had better find something to help him tune out that goat's singing.

"So that's settled," Annabeth looked at Leo, who was studying his console, listening to Festus creak and click over the intercom. "Leo, how long until we reach Charleston?"

"Good question," he muttered. "Festus just detected a large group of eagles behind us on the long-range sonar."

Piper leaned over the console. "Are you sure they're Roman?"

Leo rolled his eyes. "No, Pipes. It could be a random group of giant eagles flying in perfect formation. Of course they're Roman! I could turn the ship around and fight-"

"Which would be a very bad idea and remove any doubt that we're enemies of Rome." Tobias shot that idea out of the sky immediately.

"Or I have another idea-" Leo said. If we went straight to Charleston, we could be there in a few hours. But those eagles would over take is and things would get complicated. _Instead, _we could send out a decoy to trick the then take the ship on a detour and go the long way around to Charleston, getting there tomorrow morning-"

Hazel started to protest, but Leo raised his hand. "I know, I know. Nico's in trouble and we have to hurry."

"It's June twenty-seventh," Hazel said. "Four more days after today, then he dies."

"I know! Hut this might throw the Romans off our trail. We should still have enough time to reach Rome.

Haze scowled. "When you say should have enough..."

Leo shrugged. "How do you feel about barely enough?"

Hazel put her face in her hands for three seconds. "Sounds about typical for us."

Tobias took that a green light. "I'm very scared to ask this question, but what did you have in mind Leo?"

"I'm so glad you asked!" He punched a few buttons on the console, rotated the turntable, and repeatedly press the _A _button on his Wii controller really, really fast. Tobias didn't know how even a ADHD demigod could do that. Leo called into the intercom, "Buford? Report for duty please."

"Whose Buford? I didn't sense anybody else on this ship." Tobias asked before a puff of steam shot from the stairwell and...what seemed to be a robotic table climbed on deck. It was three-legged, had a bronze base with several drawers, mahogany top, spinning gears, and a set of steam vents. It was also toting a bag like a mail sack tied to one of its legs. He clattered to the helm and made a sound like a train whistle.

"This is Buford." Leo announced.

"You name your furniture?" Frank asked.

Leo snorted. "Man, you just _wish _you had furniture this cool. Buford, are you ready for Operation End Table?"

Buford spewed steam then stepped to the railing. His mahogany top split into four pie slices, which elongated into wood blades. The blades spun, and Buford took off.

"A helicopter table," Percy muttered. "Gotta admit, that's cool. What's in the bag?"

"Dirty demigod laundry," Leo said. "I hope you don't mind Frank."

Frank choked. "What?"

"It'll grow off the eagles."

"Those were my only extra pants!"

Leo shrugged. "I asked Buford to get them laundered and folded while he's out. Hopefully he will." He rubbed his hands together and grinned. "Well! I call that a good days work. I'm gonna calculate our detour route now. See you all at dinner!"

**A/n: I own nothing but my OC.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: ok, before this chapter starts I'm just going to remind you that I am not going to write down every little scene if I don't plan on making changes to it. So scenes like Frank coming to Annabeth for help with the Chinese handcuffs and her argument with Athena still happen, just not on screen. That being said, this will jump right into the events at Charleston following page 226 onwards. So, enjoy.**

_**Annabeth**_

That night, Annabeth slept without nightmares, which just made her uneasy when she woke up- like the calm before a storm.

Leo docked the ship at a pier in Charleston Harbor, right next to the sea wall. Along the shore was a historical district with tall mansions, palm trees, and wrought-iron fences. Antique cannons pointed at the water.

By the time Annabeth camp up on deck, Jason, Frank, and Leo had already left for the museum. According to Coach Hedge, they'd promised to be back by sunset. Piper and Hazel were ready to go, but Yahan and Kazehana were both talking with Tobias. That worked out fine, since Annabeth wanted to talk to Percy before they left anyways. The black-haired demigod was leaning on the starboard railing, gazing out over the bay.

Annabeth took his hand. "What are you going to do while we're gone?"

"Jump into the harbor," he said casually, like another kid might say, _I'm going to get a snack._ "I want to try communicating with the local Nereids. Maybe they can give me some advice about how to free those captives in Atlanta. Besides, I think the sea might be good for me. Being in that aquarium made me feel...unclean."

His hair was dark and tangled like normal, but Annabeth still remembered when he had had a streak of gray on one side. They both had, after (unwillingly) taking turns to hold the sky when they were fourteen. Now, while he had been missing over the past year, the gray streaks had finally disappeared from them both. That made Annabeth a little sad and worried. She felt like she had lost a symbolic bond with Percy.

Annabeth kissed him. "Good luck, Seaweed Brain. Just come back to me, okay?"

"I will," he promised. "You do the same."

Annabeth tried to push away her growing unease. She looked just in time to see Tobias give a kiss to Kazehana, then give one to Yahan. She knew they were together and they seemed happy, but she still failed to understand how that was possible.

She pushed aside her disbelief like she had with her unease and turned towards Piper and Hazel. "Ok girls. Let's find the ghost of the Battery."

* * *

Afterward, Annabeth wished she had jumped into the harbor with Percy. She even would've preferred a museum full of ghosts.

Not that she minded hanging out with the girls. Hazel and Piper were both demigods and good friends, while Kazehana and Yahan were both friendly and polite. At first they had a pretty good time walking along the Battery. According to the signs, the seaside park was called White Point Gardens. The ocean breeze swept away the muggy heat of the summer afternoon, and it was pleasantly cool under the palmetto trees. The road was with old Civil War cannons and bronze statues, which made Annabeth shudder. They made her think of New York City during the Titan War, which had been crawling with automatons when she had used Daedalus's command sequence twenty-three. It made her wonder how many statues around the country were secretly automatons, waiting to be activated.

Charleston Harbor glittered in the sun, while to the north and south, strips of land stretched out like arms to enclose the bay. Sitting in the mouth of the harbor, about a mile out, was a island with a stone fort. Annabeth had a vague memory of that fort being important during the Civil War, but she didn't much about it.

Mostly she just breathed in the sea air and thought about Percy. Gods forbid she ever had to break up with him, because she' denser be able to visit the sea again without remembering her broken heart. So she was relieved when they turned away from the sea wall and explored the inland side of the island.

The park wasn't crowded, but Annabeth imagined that most of the locals had gone on summer vacation or were holed up inside taking a siesta. They strolled along South Battery Street, which was lined with four-story Colonial mansions. The brick walls were blanketed with ivy and the facades had soaring white colons like Roman temples. The front gates were bursting with rose bushes, honeysuckle, and flowering bougainvillea.

"It's beautiful here," Yahan commented while looking around. "Very quite and old fashioned. It feels like you could spend forever just walking around."

Annabeth had to agree. You could just barely hear the sea for a nice background noise, and the flowers made a explosion of colors. With so few people around, you could almost believe that you were alone.

She didn't know how she felt about Kazehana and Yahan. Still didn't actually. Both were stunningly gorgeous, but they didn't act like the other pretty girls Annabeth knew. Instead of being arrogant, mean and shallow, they were friendly, outgoing, and she had a feeling there was more depth to them then she had seen. That wasn't even adding in the fact that Yahan had shadow travel powers and a dagger she could probably use very well. Kazehana had wind powers like Tobias, but hers seemed more power oriented rather than variety. Either way, they were things she didn't understand, and for being a daughter of wisdom, that felt like a splinter was digging under her skin. One she couldn't get out until she understood.

Tobias was an even bigger mystery. He had power over air she had never seen from anyone except a god, yet he wasn't a demigod. He was a mortal with something else in him, according the coach. He was apparently skilled with a sword if he could've taken both Jason and Percy when they possessed, and was incredibly durable when wearing those black jeans and wolf head shirt since he had taken a lightning bolt to the chest with no ill effects. His wrist gauntlet or whatever it was was nothing but a conundrum. His sword was not Celestial bronze of Imperial gold. It was just driving her nuts.

She was so deep in thought she might've done what Yahan had said and kept walking forever around the park if Piper hadn't grabbed her arm.

"There." She pointed across the harbor. A hundred yards out, a shimmering white figure floated on the water. Annabeth's first thoughts were it might be a buoy or a small boat reflecting the sunlight, but it was definitely glowing and it was moving more smoothly than a boat, making a straight line towards them.

"The ghost," she said.

"That's not a ghost," Hazel said. "No kind of spirit glows that brightly."

Annabeth took her word for it. She couldn't imagine being Hazel, dying a such a young age and coming back from the Underworld, knowing more about the dead then the living.

Kazehana shivered like she had gotten chilled. "Whatever it is, I can feel power pouring off it. A lot of power."

As if in a trance, Piper walked across the street toward the edge of the sea wall, barely missing a horse drawn carriage.

"Piper!" Annabeth called.

"We better follow her," Hazel said.

By the time the others had caught up to Piper, the ghostly apparition was only a few yards away. Piper was glaring at it like the sight offended her.

"It _is_ her." She grumbled.

Annabeth squinted at the ghost, but it blazed too brightly to make out details. The apparition floated up the sea wall and stopped in front of them, the glow fading when it did.

Annabeth gasped. The woman was breathtakingly beautiful and strangely familiar. Her face was hard to describe, since her features seemed to shift from one glamorous movie star to the next. Her eyes sparkled playfully- sometimes green, blue, amber, or purple. Her hair changed from long, straight blond to dark chocolate curls.

Annabeth felt her jealousy rise instantly. She'd always wished she had dark hair, since she felt no one ever took her seriously as a blond. She had to work twice as hard to get recognition as a strategist, architect, senior counselor, anything that had to do with brains

The woman was dressed like a Southern belle, just like Jason had described. Her gown was a low cut bodice of pink silk and a three tiered hoop skirt with white scalloped lace. She wore tall white gloves and held a feathered pink-and-white fan to her chest.

Everything about her seemed calculated to make Annabeth feel inadequate: the easy grace with which she wore her dress, the perfect yet understated make up, and the way she radiated feminine charm no man could possibly resist.

Annabeth then realized her jealousy was irrational. The woman was _making_ her feel this way. She recognized this woman now, even though her face changed by the second, becoming more and more beautiful.

"Aphrodite," she said.

"Venus?" Hazel asked in amazement.

"Mom," Piper said with no enthusiasm.

"Girls!" The goddess spread her arms like she wanted a group hug. Nobody obliged. Instead, Hazel backed into a palmetto tree while Yahan and Kazehana were looking at the woman with interest and a hint of confusion.

"I'm so glad you're here," Aphrodite said. "War is coming. Bloodshed is inevitable. So there's only one thing to do."

"And that is?" Yahan asked while her hand unconsciously lifted to her dagger hilt.

The goddess looked at her in just as much interest that they were looking at her with. "Why, have tea and chat, obviously. Come with me!"

* * *

Aphrodite knew how to do tea.

She led them to the central pavilion in the garden, which held a white pillared gazebo. A table was set up with silverware, china cups, and of course a steaming pot of tea. The far grenade from it changed just as easily as Aphrodite's appearance, sometimes cinnamon, jasmine, or mint. There were platters of scones, cookies, muffins, fresh butter and jam- all of which, Annabeth figured, were incredibly fattening, unless you were the immortal goddess of love.

Aphrodite sat- or held court- in a wicker peacock chair, pouring tea and serving cakes without get a speck on her clothes, her posture always perfect, her smile always dazzling.

Annabeth hated her more and more with every passing second.

"Oh, my sweet girls," the goddess said. "I do love Charleston! The weddings I've attended in this gazebo, they bring tears to my eyes. The elegant balls in the day of the Old South, so lovely. Many of these mansions still have statues of me in their gardens, though they called me Venus."

"So you're really the goddess of love?" Yahan asked while munching on a sugar cookie. She didn't seem the least bit uncomfortable, which made Annabeth a bit jealous. The girl was talking with an immortal, all powerful goddess like she was a interesting person she had always wanted to meet. Apparently unaware of how eccentric gods were, even before the schizophrenic act had started.

That old saying was true. Ignorance _was_ bliss.

"Yes I am," the goddess replied. "I didn't catch your name..."

"Yahan. This is Kazehana." She gestured at the dark haired woman, who was sipping tea calmly.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you both. I have to say, I've wanted to meet you ever since I sensed you arrived. I've found you both to be quite fascinating, you and that handsome young man that you came with."

"You mean Tobias." Kazehana set her cup down and meet the goddess's eye.

"Um, not to be rude, but I have a question," Annabeth spoke up, interrupting the disturbingly friendly talk. "Which are you, Venus or Aphrodite?"

The way the goddess' sees sparkled mischievously made Annabeth think she should've just kept her mouth shut. "Annabeth Chase, you've grown into quite a beautiful young woman. You really need to do something with your hair though. And Hazel Levesque, your clothes-"

"My clothes?" Hazel looked down at her rumpled denim, no self-consciously, but baffled, like she couldn't imagine what was wrong with them.

"Mother!" Piper said. "You're embarrassing me."

"Well I don't see why. Just because _you_ don't appreciate my fashion tips, Piper, doesn't mean the others won't. I can do a quick makeover for Annabeth and Hazel, maybe silk gowns like mine-"

"Mother!"

"Fine," Aphrodite sighed. "To answer your question, Annabeth, I am _both _Aphrodite and Venus. Unlike many of my fellow Olympians, I changed hardly at all from one age to the other. In fact, I like to think I haven't aged at bit!" Her fingers fluttered appreciatively. "Love is Love, after all, whether you're Greek or Roman. This civil war won't affect me as much as it will the others."

Wonderful, Annabeth thought. Her own mother, the most levelheaded Olympian, was reduced to a raving, viscous, scatterbrain in a subway station, while the only ones not affected by the Greek-Roman schism seemed to be Aphrodite, Nemesis, and Dionysus. Love, revenge, wine. Very helpful.

" 'Love is love.' Very philosophical," Kazehana seemed to think out loud while taking a scone. "Very true too."

Aphrodite beamed. "I'm glad to see someone appreciates my views. I must say, I've rarely felt a love like the kind you two," she waved at Kazehana and Yahan. "Share with this Tobias."

Both girls smiled wistfully.

"We'd do anything for him," Yahan said honestly while taking a sip of tea. "And he'd do anything for us."

Annabeth heard the absolute conviction in her voice. She felt a bit of envy stir in her chest. They both seemed absolutely sure they did and would love Tobias forever, and from the sound of it, it was the same for him. It did make her wonder what they had gone through though. That kind of love was never easy to achieve, since it demanded that the involved parties know everything there was to know about their significant other.

Aphrodite looked like she wanted to swoon. "Such a pure love. It's very touching, and those bonds you share with him. Binding, yet not restrictive. It's freeing."

"Yep." Yahan smirked. "Plus it has some _other _applications."

Annabeth did _not_ want to know what Yahan meant by that, and the smirks on both her and Kazehana's faces just increased that feeling.

"We're not at war yet Aphrodite."

"Oh Annabeth," Aphrodite folded her fan. "Such optimism, yet you have have heart ending days ahead of you. Of _course_ war is coming. Love and war go together. They are the peaks of human emotion! Evil and good, beautiful and ugliness."

"I doubt it," Kazehana broke in, drawing everyone's attention to her. She and Yahan were both frowning now. "The ugliest emotion is sadism and not caring what happens to reach your own goals. But what do you mean 'heart ending days'?"

The goddess giggled slightly. "Well, Annabeth can give you some idea. I once promised to make _her _love life interesting. And didn't I?"

Annabeth almost snapped the handle off her teacup. For years, her heart had been torn. First there was Luke Castellan, her first crush, who had only seen her as a little sister; then he'd turned evil and decided he liked her- right before he died. Next came Percy, who was infuriating but sweet, yet he seemed to be falling for another girl named Rachel, and then _he _almost died, several times. Finally Annabeth had gotten Percy to himself, only to vanish for six months and lose his memory.

"Interesting," Annabeth said. "is a mild way of putting it."

"Well, I can't take credit for _all_ your troubles," the goddess said. "But I do love twists and turns in a love story. Oh, all of you are such excellent storys- I mean girls. You do me proud."

"If you love twists and turns, you should've seen what life was like when we first met Tobias and what happened along the way," Yahan snorted. "Once he nearly destroyed an entire city bridge when Kazehana was almost killed."

That brought the conversation to another grinding halt as everyone looked at Kazehana. Now she seemed to be a million miles away while her right hand went to the back of her neck and rubbed it.

"Interesting doesn't even begin to describe what happened there," Kazehana said softly. She then sighed. "Still, despite what happened, we ended up becoming closer than before. Learned more about each other." Seemingly done with her moment of introspection, the woman looked up at Aphrodite. "Is there a reason you're spending your days in Charleston?"

"Hhmm? Oh, you mean besides the tea? I often come here. I love the view, the food, the atmosphere- you can just smell the romance and heartbreak in the air, can't you? Centuries of it." She pointed to a nearby mansion. "Do you see that rooftop balcony? We had a party there the night the American Civil War began. The shelling of Fort Sumter."

"That's it." Annabeth remembered. "The island in the harbor. That's where the first fighting of the Civil War happened there, when the Confederates shelled the Union troops and took the fort."

"Oh, such a party!" Aphrodite said. "A string quartet, and all the men in their elegant new officers uniforms. You should've seen the woman's dresses, they were so lovely! I danced with Ares- or was he Mars? I'm afraid I was a bit giddy. And the beautiful bursts of light across the harbor, the roar of the cannons giving the men an excuse to put their arms around their frightened sweethearts!"

Annabeth's tea was cold. She hadn't eaten anything, but she felt like she wanted to throw up. "You're talking about the beginning of the bloodiest war in U.S. history. Over six hundred thousand people died. More Americans that in World War One and World War Two combined."

"And the refreshments!" Aphrodite continued. "Ah, they were divine. General Beauregard himself made an appearance. He was such a scoundrel. He was on his second wife then, but you should have seen the way he looked at Lisbeth Cooper-"

"Mother!" Piper tossed her scone to the pigeons.

"Yes, sorry," the goddess said. "To make the story short, I'm here to help you, girls. I doubt you'll be seeing much of Hera, your little quest has hardly made her welcome in the throne room. And the other gods are rather indisposed,as you know, torn between their Greek and Roman sides. Some more then others." Aphrodite fixed her gaze on Annabeth. "I suppose you've told your friends about your falling-out with your mother?"

Heat rose to Annabeth's cheeks while everyone else looked at her curiously.

"Falling-out?" Hazel asked.

"An argument," Annabeth answered. "It's nothing."

"Nothing! Well, I don't know about that. Athena was the most Greek goddess of all, the patron of Athens. When the Romans took over...oh, they adopted Athena after a fashion. She became Minerva, the goddess of crafts and cleverness. But the Romans had other war gods who were more to their taste, more reliably Roman. Like Bellona."

"Reyna's mother," Piper muttered.

"Yes, indeed," the goddess agreed. "I had a lovely talk with Renya a while back, right here in the park. The Romans also had Mars, and then later Mithras- mind you, he wasn't ever properly Greek or Roman, but the legionaries were crazy about his cult."

"What was he if not Greek or Roman?" Yahan asked.

"Persian. I always found him crass and terribly _nouveau dieu_ personally. At any rate, the Romans quite sidelined poor Athena and took away most of her military importance. The Greeks never forgave the Romans for that. Neither did Athena."

Annabeth's ears buzzed.

"The Mark of Athena," she said. "It leads to a statue doesn't it? It leads to...to _the _statue."

Aphrodite smiled. "You are clever, like your mother. Understand, though, you siblings, the children of Athena, have been searching for centuries. None have succeeded in recovering the statue. Not only that, but they have been keeping the feud with the Romans alive. Every civil war, all this heartache and bloodshed, has been orchestrated largely by Athena's children."

That's..." Annabeth wanted to say impossible, but she also remembered Athena's bitter words in Grand Central Station, the burning hatred in her eyes.

"Romantic?" Aphrodite offered.

"Terrible, is the word I think she's looking for." Kazehana spoke up, frowning slightly for the first time.

Annabeth took a breath, trying to clear the fog from her mind. "The Mark of Athena, how does it work? Is it a series of clues, or a trail set by Athena-?"

"Hhmm," Aphrodite looked politely bored. "I couldn't say. I don't believe Athena created the Mark consciously. If she knew where her statue was, she'd simply tell you where to find it. No, I'd guess the Mark is more like a spiritual trail of breadcrumbs, a connection between the statue and children of the goddess. That statue _wants_ to be found,you see, but it can only be freed by the most worthy."

"And for thousands of years, no one has managed." Annabeth said.

"What statue are you two talking about?" Yahan asked, looking between the two.

The goddess laughed. "Oh, I'm sure Annabeth can fill you in. At any rate, the clue you need is close: a map of sorts, left by the children of Athena in 1861, which will start you on your path once you reach Rome. But as you said, Annabeth Chase, no one has ever succeeded in following the Mark of Athena to its end, for there you must face your worst fear- the worst fear of all children of Athena. And even if you do survive, how will you use your reward? For peace or war?"

Annabeth was glad the table cloth hide her legs, because they were trembling. "This map, where is it?"

Both Yahan and Kazehana both took a sharp breath and then looked towards the sky.

"We have company." Yahan pointed up.

Circling overhead were two large eagles. Higher up, descending rapidly, was a flying chariot being pulled by pegasi. Apparently Leo's diversion with Buford the flying table hadn't worked, at least not for long.

Aphrodite spread butter on her muffin like she had all the time in the world. "Oh, the map is in Fort Sumter of course. "She pointed her butter knife towards the island across the harbor. "It looks like the Romans have arrived to cut you off, so is hurry back to the ship if I were you. Would you like some tea cakes to go?"

* * *

They didn't _quite_ make it back to the ship. Halfway across the dock, three giant eagles descended in front of them and deposited a Roman commando in purple and denim with glittering gold armor, sword, and shield. The eagles flew away and the Roman in the center, who was scrawnier than the others, raised his visor.

"Surrender to Rome!" Octavian shrieked.

Hazel drew her cavalry sword and grumbled, "Fat chance, Octavian."

"_That's_ Octavian?" Yahan said in disbelief. "I've seen more dangerous guinea pigs."

Annabeth cursed under her breath. By himself, the skinny augur wouldn't bother her, but the two other guys looked like seasoned warriors. A lot bigger and stronger then Annabeth wanted to deal with, especially since Yahan, Piper, and herself only had daggers.

Piper raised her hands in a placating gesture. "Octavian, what happened at camp was a setup. We can explain."

"Can't hear you!" Octavian yelled. "WaX in our ears! Standard procedure when battling evil sirens. Now, throw down your weapons and turn around slowly so I can bind your hands."

"Let me skewer him," Hazel muttered. "Please."

The ship was only fifty feet away, but Annabeth saw no sign of Coach Hedge or Tobias on deck. Coach Hedge was probably watching his stupid martial arts programs in his cabins. Jason's group was due back until sunset, and Percy would be underwater, unaware of the invasion. If she could get onboard, then she could use the ballistae; but there was no way to get around these three Romans.

She was running out of time. The eagles circled overhead, crying out to alert their brethren. Annabeth couldn't see the flying chariot anymore, but she assumed it was close by. She had to figure out something before more Romans arrived.

Before she could think of a plan she noticed movement behind the Romans. A quick look showed that Tobias was dressed up in his black shirt and jeans, his sword on his hip and was moving quickly yet quietly towards them with a calmly angry face. Octavian and his goons were too focused on them to notice his approach, but it they turned around...

"Excuse me?" Yahan lifted her hand. "We don't know these three, me and my friend just got lost and were asking for directions. So can we just go?"

Octavian looked disgusted when he looked at her. "More Greeks and their tricks. Well, it won't work this time, you..."

Tobias stopped right behind Octavian and tapped him twice on the shoulder, making him stop mid shout and turn.

"Excuse me." Tobias said brightly before delivering a hard and fast jab directly to his face. The Roman stumbled back with blood rapidly moving to make a blacken the skin around his right eye. Tobias then spun on heel and kicked him into the bay easily.

"Holy crap, _that_ was satisfying," Tobias said as the demigod splashed into the bay while he wiped his hands clean. He then looked at the Romans who were left, both several inches taller then him and maybe a few pounds heavier. "So, next?"

Both demigods charged with their swords at the ready. Tobias sidestepped the first stab at his gut and grabbed the offending wrist, pulling on it and spinning to cause the attacker to lose his balance and be thrown into the bay. He then ducked under a slash at his head while turning, delivering a punch to the stomach area as he did. The Roman gasped as his armor caved in like tin foil, hitting him in the solar plexus and forcing the air from his lungs. Tobias then proceeded to kick him into the bay after his two friends. The entire confrontation took ten seconds.

"So, what'd I miss?" He asked the girls while walking towards them, looking politely confused. Or rather, he tried to. The smile on his face ruined the effect.

"I love you!" Yahan laughed while throwing her arms around him. The moment was interrupted when there was a splash and the sound of two feet hitting the deck. Annabeth saw Percy standing on the deck, completely dry. He looked at the group, then at Octavian and his guards, who were splashing and sputtering in the water.

"Uh...did I miss something?" He asked.

"Not much. Romans are here, Octavian tried to capture our friends, I took offense to that and gave him a black eye before throwing him and his two friends into the bay." Tobias explained quickly.

"Oh, is that all?" Percy asked in a deadpan.

"Get me out of here! I'll kill you!" Octavian yelled in the water.

"Tempting!" Tobias shouted back.

"What?" Octavian yelled. He was holding onto one of his guards, who seemed to be having trouble keeping them both afloat.

"Nothing!" Tobias flicked his thumb at him and Octavian's head snapped back for some reason, his helmet making a _ping!_ "Let's go."

Hazel frowned. "We can't let them drown can we?"

"They won't." Percy promised. "I've got the water circulating around their feet, as soon as we're out of range, I'll spit them ashore."

Piper grinned. "Nice."

They climbed aboard the _Argo II_, and Annabeth ran to the helm. "Piper, get below. Use the sink in the gallery for an Iris-message and warn Jason to get back here, now!"

Piper nodded and raced off.

"Hazel, go find Coach Hedge and tell him to get his furry hindquarters on deck!"

"Right!"

"And Percy, you and I need to get this ship to Fort Sumter."

"Kazehana and I can help." Tobias offered. His girlfriend nodded.

"Fine, fine, fine, just go!"

Percy ran to the mast, Annabeth to the helm, Tobias and Kazehana to the front. Annabeth's hands flew across the controls, hoping she knew enough to operate them.

Annabeth had seen Percy control full-sized sailing ships with nothing but his willpower. This time, he didn't disappoint. Ropes flew on their own, releasing the dock ties and weighing anchors. The sails unfurled and caught the wind. Meanwhile, Annabeth fired the engine. The engines extended with a sound like machine gun fire, and the _Argo II _turned from the dock heading towards the island in the distance.

The three eagles circled overhead, but they had made no attempt to land on the ship, probably because Festus blew fire at them whenever they got close. More eagles were flying in formation toward Fort Sumter, at least a dozen. If each of them carried a Roman demigod...that was a lot of enemies.

"Now!" Tobias and Kazehana both slammed their hands into the deck and the wind suddenly pick up, blowing violently towards the island and pushing the ship along faster. The wind also forced the eagles to back off since they couldn't fly effectively in the air currents.

Coach Hedge came pounding up the stairs with Hazel at his hooves.

"Where are they?" He demanded. "Who do I kill?"

"No killing!" Annabeth ordered. "Just defend the ship!"

"But they interrupted a Chuck Norris movie!"

Piper emerged from below, her hair dancing in the violent winds. "Got a message through to Jason!" She yelled over them. "Kind of fuzzy, but he's already on his way! He should be-oh! There!"

Soaring over the city, heading in their direction, was a giant bald eagle, unlike the golden Roman birds.

"Frank!" Hazel said.

Leo was hanging from the eagles feet, and even from the ship and over the wind, Annabeth could hear him screaming and cursing. Behind them flew Jason, riding the wind.

"Never seen Jason fly before," Percy grumbled. "He looks like a blond Superman."

"Eeh, Tobias is faster." Yahan shrugged.

"This isn't the time!" Piper scolded them both. "Look, they're in trouble!"

Sure enough, the Roman flying chariot had descended from a cloud and was diving straight toward them. Jason and Frank veered out of the way, pulling up to avoid getting trampled by the pegasi. The charioteers fired their bows, arrows whistling past Leo's feet, which led to more screaming and cursing. Jason and Frank were both forced to overshoot the _Argo II_, both riding the air currents blowing them along, and fly towards Fort Sumter.

"I'll get them!" Yelled Coach Hedge.

He spun the port ballista. Before Annabeth could yell, "Don't be stupid!" Hedge fired. A flaming spear rocketed toward the chariot, the wind only making the flames burn hotter and brighter.

It exploded above the heads of the pegasi, growing them into a panic. Unfortunately, it also signed Frank's wings and sent him spiraling out of control. Leo slipped from his grasp. The chariot shot toward Fort Sumter, slamming into Jason.

Annabeth watched in horror a Jason- obviously dazed and in pain- lunged for Leo, caught him, then struggled to gain altitude. He only managed to slow their galled before they disappeared behind the ramparts of the fort. Frank tumbled after them. Then the chariot dropped somewhere inside and hit with a bone-shattering _CRACK! _One broken wheel spun into the air.

"Coach!" Piper screamed.

"What?" Hedge demanded. "That was just a warning shot!"

Annabeth gunned the engine while the wind picked up even more. The hull shuddered as they picked up speed, the docks of the island only a hundred yards away now. But a dozen more eagles were soaring overhead, each carrying a Roman demigod in her claws.

The _Argo II's _would be outnumbered three to one.

"Percy," Annabeth said. "We're going to come in hard. I need you to control the water so we don't smash into the docks. Once we're there, you're going to have to hold off the attackers. The rest of you help him guard the ship."

"But-Jason!" Piper said.

"Frank and Leo!" Hazel added.

"I'll find them," Annabeth promised while Tobias and Kazehana stopped blowing the winds, causing them to slow down. "I've got to figure out where the map is. And I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who can do that."

"The fort is crawling with Romans," Percy warned. "You'll have to fight your way through, find our friends, assuming they're okay, find this map, and get everyone back alive. All on your own?"

"No she won't," Yahan spoke up, drawing attention. "I can go with her and teleport them back to the ship. But it's going to take at least two, maybe three trips to get them all."

Her face was determined. "I can look after myself, and I'm fast."

Annabeth made a snap decision. "Fine, but be fast."

She kissed Percy. "And whatever you guys do, don't let them take this ship!"

**A/N: Well, time to wrap it up. But this chapter was fun to write, what with the girls meeting Aphrodite and Tobias punching Octavian in the face (that was oh so satisfying to write considering what an ass he is.) but next chapter will be even more fun, what with Annabeth doing what she does, plus I've got two big surprises for you. First one is kinda shock-and-awe, second one's aftermath is going to be hilarious. Till then, review, favorite, and tune in next time!**


	9. Chapter 9

_**Annabeth**_

The new Civil War had begun.

Leo had somehow escaped the fall unharmed. Annabeth saw him ducking from portico to portico, blasting fire at the giant eagles. Roman demigods tried to chase him, tripping over piles of cannonballs and dodging around tourists, who screamed and ran in circles.

"It's just a reenactment!" Tourist guides kept yelling, but they didn't sound so sure. The Mist could only change so much of what mortals saw.

In the middle of the courtyard, a full grown elephant-could that be Frank?- rampaged around the flagpoles, scattering Roman warriors. Jason stood about fifty yards away, sword fighting with a stocky centurion whose lips were stained cherry red, like blood. A wannabe vampire, or maybe a Kool-Aid freak?

As Annabeth and Yahan watched, Jason yelled, "Sorry about this, Dakota!" He vaulted over the centurion's head like an acrobat and slammed the hilt of his _gladius _into the back of the Romans head. Dakota crumbled.

"Jason!" Annabeth yelled.

He scanned the battlefield until he saw them.

Annabeth pointed back to where the _Argo II _was. "Get the others, Yahan will get you back to the ship!" As she spoke the dark skinned girl sank into the shadows and lifted out of Jason's next to him.

"What about you?" He called as Yahan engaged a Roman fighter before kicking them away.

"Don't wait for me!"

Annabeth ran off before he could protest, but it wouldn't have mattered. Yahan had grabbed his arm and both dropped into the shadows, vanishing.

She had a hard time maneuvering through the mobs of tourists. She wondered why so many people were at Fort Sumter on such a hot day, until she realized the crowds had saved their lives. Without the chaos of all these panicked mortals, the Romans would have already surrounded their outnumbered crew.

Annabeth dodged into a small room that must've been part of the garrison, trying to steady her breathing. She imagined what it must've been like being a Union solider on this island in 1861, surrounded by enemies, dwindling food and supplies, and no reinforcements coming.

Some of the Union soldiers had been children of Athena. And they had hidden an important map here, something they didn't want falling into enemy hands. If it was Annabeth, where would she have hidden it?

Suddenly the walls glistened and the air turned warm. She wondered if she was hallucinating and was about to run for the exit when the doors slammed shut. The mortar between the stones blistered, then popped. From the broken blisters, thousands of tiny black spiders swelled forth,

Annabeth couldn't move and it felt like her heart had stopped. The spiders were blanketing the walls, crawling over one another, spreading across the floor and gradually surrounding her. This was impossible. It couldn't be real.

She had feared spiders since she was a little girl. All children of Athena feared them, ever since Athena had taught the mortal weaver Arachne a hard lesson, turning her into a spider as a curse for her pride. Ever since then, spiders hated children of Athena. That's what she had learned at Camp Half-Blood.

But that didn't make her fear easier to deal with. And now she was standing in the barracks at Fort Sumter, being surrounded by spiders. Her worst nightmares had come true.

A sleepy voice murmured in her head: _Soon, my dear. You will meet the weaver soon._

"Gaea?" Annabeth murmured. She feared the answer, but she asked: "Who-who is the weaver?"

The spiders became excited, swarming over the walls, warbling around Annabeth's feet like a glistening black whirlpool. The only thing that kept her from passing out from fear was the hope that this was an illusion.

_I hope you survive, child, _the woman's voice said. _I would prefer you as my sacrifice, but we must let the weaver take her revenge._

Gaea's voice faded. On the far wall, in the center of the spider swarm, a red symbol blazed to life. The figure of an owl stared straight at Annabeth. The mark of Athena then burned across the walls, incinerating the spiders until the room was empty except for the smell of sickly sweet ashes.

_Go, _said a new voice. This one was Annabeth's mother. _Avenge me. Follow the Mark._

The blazing symbol of the owl faded and the garrison door burst open. Annabeth stood stunned in the middle of the room, not sure if what she had just seen was something real or just a vision.

An explosion shook the building, reminding Annabeth reminded her that her friends were in danger and she had wasted time standing there. She forced herself to move, stumbling outside since she was still trembling. She gazed across the courtyard, past panicked mortals and fighting demigods, towards the edge of the battlements, where a large mortar pointed to the sea.

Maybe it was her imagination, but the old artillery piece seemed to be glowing red. She dashed towards it, ducking as an eagle swooped at her and kept running. After those spiders, nothing could scare her enough to make her stop.

Roman demigods had formed ranks and were advancing towards the _Argo II_, but a miniature storm had gathered over their heads. Though the day was clear all around them, thunder rumbled and lightning flashed above them. Rain and wind pushed them back.

Annabeth didn't stop to think about it.

She reached the mortar and placed her hand on the muzzle and a red outline glowed on the plug that blocked the opening. The Mark of Athena.

"In the mortar," Annabeth said. "Of course."

She tries to pry the plug with her fingers, but couldn't find any purchase. Cursing, she drew her dagger and touched the Celestial bronze blade to the plug, causing it to shrink and loosen. Annabeth pulled it out and stuck her hand in the cannon. She felt something cold, smooth, and metal. She pulled out a small disc of bronze the size of a tea saucer, etched with delicate letters and illustrations. She decided to examine later, when they weren't fighting for their lives. She thrust it into her pack.

"Rushing off?" Renya asked.

The prator stood ten feet away, in full battle armor, holding a gold javelin. Her two metal greyhounds, one silver and one gold, growled at her side.

Annabeth scanned the area. They were more or less alone, most of the combat having moved towards the dock. Hopefully everyone was on board, but they would have to set sail soon or be overrun. She had to hurry.

"Renya," she said. "What happened at Camp Jupiter was Gaea's fault. Eidolons, possessing spirits-"

"Save your explanations," Renya cut her off. "You'll need them for the trial."

The dogs snarled and inched forwards. The last time she had seen them, they hadn't attacked her because she had been telling the truth, but this time that didn't seem to matter. Annabeth tried think of an escape plan. Reyna was too good, she doubted she could beat her in one on one combat, and her dogs made her chances even worse.

"If you let Gaea drive our camps apart, the giants have already won," Annabeth said. "They'll destroy the Romans, the Greeks, the gods, the whole mortal world."

"Don't you think I know that?" Reyna's voice was hard as iron. "What choice have you left me? Octavian smells blood and he has whipped the legion into a frenzy that I can't stop. Surrender to me and I will bring you back to New Rome for trial. It won't be fair. You'll be painfully executed, but it _may_ be enough to stop further violence. Octavian won't be satisfied if course, but I think I can convince the others to stand down."

"It wasn't me!"

"It doesn't matter!" Reyna snapped. "Someone must pay for what happened. Let it be you, it's the better option."

Annabeth's skin crawled. "Better then what?"

"Use that wisdom of yours," Reyna said. "If you escape today, we won't follow. I told you, not even a mad man will travel across the sea to the ancient lands, and if Octavian can't have vengeance on your ship, he'll turn to Camp Half-Blood. The legion will march on your territory, raze it, and salt the earth."

_Kill the Romans, _she heard her mother urging. _They can never be your allies._

Annabeth wanted to sob. Camp Half-Blood was the only real home she'd ever known, and in a bid for friendship, she had told the Romans exactly where to find it. She couldn't leave it at the mercy of the Romans and travel halfway around the world. But their quest and everything she had suffered to get Percy back would be meaningless if she didn't go to the ancient lands. Besides, the Mark of Athena didn't have to lead to revenge.

"I'm going," she told Reyna. "I'm following the Mark of Athena to Rome."

The prator shook her head. "You have no idea what awaits you."

"Yes I do. This grudge between our camps, I can fix it."

"Our grudge is thousands of years old. How can one person fix it?"

Annabeth wished she could give Reyna a convincing answer but she couldn't. She just knew she had to try. Athena had told her with lost look on her face in that subway: _I must return home._

"The quest has to succeed," She said. "You can try to stop me, in which case we'll fight to the death. Or you can let me go, and I'll try to save both our camps. If you have to march on Camp Half-Blood, at least try to delay Octavian, slow him down."

Reyna narrowed her eyes. "One daughter of a war goddess to the other, I respect your boldness. But I'd you leave now, you camp is doomed to be destroyed."

"Don't underestimate Camp Half-Blood."

"You have never seen the legion at war."

Over by the docks, a familiar shrieked over the wind. "Kill them! Kill them all!"

Octavian had survived his swim in the harbor and was crouched behind his guards, screaming encouragement at the other Roman demigods as they struggled towards the ship, holding up their shields to deflect the storm raging around them.

On the deck of the _Argo II_, Percy, Jason, and Kazehana were standing together, their hands meeting in the center. Annabeth got a tingle down her spun when she realized they were working together, calling the wind and sea to do their bidding. Water and wind churned together, waves heaving against the ramparts and glinting flashing, giant eagles were knocked out of the sky, wreckage of the flying chariot burned in the water and Coach Hedge swung a mounted crossbow, taking pot shots at the Roman birds as they flew ahead.

"You see?" Reyna said bitterly. "The spear is thrown. Our people are at war."

"Not if I succeed."

Reyna's expression looked the same it had back at Camp Jupiter when she realized Jason was with Piper. The praetor was too alone, too bitter and betrayed to believe anything could go right for her ever again. Annabeth waited for her to attack. Instead, she flicked her hand and the metal dogs backed away.

"Annabeth Chase, when we meet again, we will be enemies on the field of battle." Reyna said. She then turned and walked across the ramparts, her metallic greyhounds following her.

Annabeth feared it might be some sort of trick, but she didn't have time to wonder. She ran for the ship. The winds that battered the Romans didn't seem to affect her.

Annabeth sprinted through their lines. Octavian yelled, "Stop her!"

A spear flew past her ear. The _Argo II _was already pulling away from the dock. Piper was at the gangplank, reaching her hand out...

Annabeth stopped abruptly, pain flaring in her head as someone pulled on her hair, stopping her.

"No!" Piper yelled and one other voice. Tobias dashed past Piper and jumped off the gangplank, landing on the docks. He then proceeded to punch the Roman holding Annabeth in the head, forcing him to release her so he could tend to a broken nose. He grabbed Annabeth's upper arm roughly.

"Sorry." He muttered before throwing her through the air like a ragdoll. Three seconds of blurred flight, whipping wind, and limp limbs later and Annabeth crashed into Piper, knocking them both over. But she was now on the ship, while the distance was too great for Tobias to jump to safety. He was stuck with a small army of Romans.

"Leo, turn the ship around!" Annabeth scrambled back to her feet and pulled up Piper.

"Go! I'll be fine, just get out of here! Now!" Tobias shouted back before turning his attention to the approaching crowd of Romans. Annabeth watched him clench his right fist and pull back. "Divine Punishment!"

He thrust his fist forwards and a shockwave fired from it, knocking back the Romans like playing cards in a strong wind. He took the moment to dash through their ranks and make it back to dry land. He then had to fight his way past three Romans that had recovered but then ran inland while Annabeth and Piper watched as the ship was pushed over the forts walls by a massive waved conjured by Percy. They couldn't do anything but watch the Romans run after Tobias while they fled to safety, the island getting smaller and farther away by the second

* * *

_**Tobias**_

Feet pounding and sword in his fist, Tobias didn't really have a plan the moment besides running, putting as much distance between him and those Romans as he could for the time being. He heard the faint sound of Octavian ordering them to split up and surround him when he ducked back into the fort.

This actually worked out quite well for him. Not the fort, the place was a maze that made it so he couldn't tell where he was going, but he was stuck with a legion of Romans trying to surround him, Octavian, and he bet Renya was lurking around here someplace.

And that was good. He wanted a word with her.

Tobias ran through a set of doors and was forced to stop when he was that he had run into the same courtyard he had seen from the boat. Now full of Romans with swords and a few had bows, arrows ready to fire and pointed at him. Tobias made sure he was panting heavily, putting on the act of being exhausted for the moment. His rain drenched clothes and hair would've hidden any sweat he did have so that didn't matter.

One of the soldiers moved forwards with hate burning in his eye. The reason Tobias said eye was because it was Octavian who had moved forwards and his right eye was now swollen shut and blackened, with a purple ting around it. His hair was wet and lanky while beads of water sparkled on his chest plate and sword.

"Surrender Greek, and we will spare your life."

Tobias took a breath and straightened, no longer putting on the act.

"It's good you're all here, I wanted to talk with you," he said conversationally while sheathing his sword and taking it off his hip. The sound of bow strings being pulled tighter in anticipation didn't bother him in the slightest. He dropped the sword to the ground and used it as a cane, leaning on it casually with his right hand. "How's the eye feel Octavian? Looks a bit swollen."

The argue snarled, but instead of sounding menacing it sounded pathetic, like a snarl from a poodle. "Surrender or die."

Tobias laughed. "Go ahead. Shoot me, see what happens."

"So be it. Fire!"

There was discordant symphony of twangs and whistles as at least twenty arrows were fired at Tobias.

He smirked as the projectiles came closer by the second. It was almost too funny. The Romans had him outnumbered, outgunned, and surrounded. They thought he was going to die here. What they didn't know was he had more power at his fingertips then they all did. The strength he had shown on the _Argo II_? A mere fraction of his full power, and only one of his many ways of using it.

Time to show them one other way he could use it for.

Tobias snapped up his free hand and all the arrows stopped dead in mid-air. All the deadly gold tips were pointing at him from five feet away, Matrix style. Tobias absolutely loved the looks of bafflement on their faces, and took even more pleasure in seeing it on Octavian's face. He dropped his hand and all the arrows clattered to the stone floor in a small pile.

"Aw, that's so cute, thinking those could hurt me." He chuckled, mocking them. Tobias then got serious and stood up straight, lifting his sheaths tip off the ground. "I want to talk to your praetor Reyna."

Octavian snapped out of his shock. "You have no right..."

"NOW!" Tobias yelled, except this yell was like a giant cannon going off. The reason being Tobias had manipulated the surrounding atmosphere to enhance the sound waves coming from him when he had shouted. The loud sound caused all the Romans to wince and take an instinctive step back. They were tempted to take another one when they saw the eyes of their enemy change from an unusual silver to a unnerving white.

Nobody seemed to breath for a few seconds until there was the sound of boots on stone and the crowd started parting. A few sconces later the front rows parted to show Reyna with her dogs at her side. She walked out a few feet and stopped, her automatons sitting on their hunches. Both of them snarled.

Tobias spared them a glance before bringing his attention back to Reyna.

"Reyna. Its a pleasure to meet you." He said, bowing his head respectfully. She gave a quick nod.

"I wish I could say the same. What is your name, demigod?"

Tobias snorted. "My name is Tobias Song, and I am no demigod Reyna. Ask your dogs if you don't believe me."

The praetor looked at them but the dogs didn't react. Now she looked back with slight confusion.

"If you aren't a demigod, what are you?"

"Unique," Tobias responded. "But I'm not here to talk about me, I'm here to warn you."

Reya's eyes narrowed. "Warn me of what?"

"It's simple," Tobias explained while letting go of his sword, but it stayed there, hovering while he pressed a combination on his vortex manipulator. There was a beep before the top panel flipped open. He grabbed his sword and put it in tip first, then dropped it in. It vanished without a sound, letting him close the hatch again. "I want you to stop chasing the _Argo II, _and stay away from Camp Half-Blood."

"That's impossible. They have attacked us first, but we will finish this war they've started." Reyna said coldly.

Tobias shrugged. "Fair enough. But I can tell just by looking at you. You don't want this war Reyna. What you want is Gaea put back to sleep and the camps to work together. You want what's best for your people and a war with the Greeks isn't what's best for them."

"The Greeks attacked us first!" Octavian, being an idiot, decided to take that moment to shout and make his opinion known. "They tricked us into letting them into our home and then stabbed us in the back, just like they always do. Now we will take our revenge!" This was met with an approving roar from the other demigods.

"Shut up Octavian," Tobias snarled while making the air kick the augur's feet out from under him so he landed on his butt. "When I want the opinion of a spineless coward like you, I'll ask for it."

"How dare you! Do you know..." Octavian stopped mid-shout to suddenly grab his throat. His mouth moved but he couldn't seem to speak and his chest wasn't moving. His face started turning red while Tobias's eyes seemed to glow ever so slightly.

"Yes I know who you are. You're a selfish, manipulative snake who cares only for personal power that I absolutely loath with every fiber of my being. People like Jason, Reyna here, Percy, those are people I'll respect since they'll do what's best for their friends and people without expecting anything in return. You are nothing but a leech that I should kill here and save everyone a lot of trouble."

By now the son of Apollo was trying to gasp but couldn't draw air into his lungs and his face was steadily turning blue as he was deprived of oxygen.

"But," Tobias relaxed his gaze and Octavian explosively heaved in a breath, his chest now going up and down like a bellows. "I'm not a killer. Not anymore. So count your lucky stars that I'm such a nice guy and are letting you live to see another day."

Reyna didn't look particularly upset with Octavian almost being killed by suffocation but she was looking between him and Tobias with a calculating spark in her eyes.

"How did you do that if you aren't a demigod?" She asked while Octavian recovered enough to get to his feet, but he was still breathing heavily.

Tobias shrugged and leaned on a condensed, invisible block of air, putting one foot behind the other and doing a fantastic impression of a mime in the process.

"I'm not a demigod, but I'm still more powerful than anyone here. Any air in a five or six hundred yard radius is mine to manipulate as I please. For example, I can suck all the air out of somebody's lungs and keep air from going back in." He nodded at Octavian. "I can make it dense enough to touch like so," he tilted his head to his side. "And several other ways. And that's all just at my base level. The level I'm at now however, my range increases to a mile."

Reyna kept her face the same but all the other Roman demigods shifted nervously, which was perfectly reasonable since Tobias had basically just told them he could suffocate them all if he wanted to.

"But I only suck the air out of somebody's lungs when they piss me off like the scarecrow there," Tobias waved carelessly at Octavian. "Otherwise I stick with actually combat like swords, fists, occasionally air manipulation." He told them, mostly to calm them down since he didn't want to freak them out. He counted on Reyna's mechanical dogs ability to sniff out lies to back up his story.

Reyna glanced at her dogs but aside from their snarls on their face, neither one moved. Tobias noted that the muscles in her neck relaxed slightly and she breathed out. "I see. You would've made a good Roman if you prefer honorable combat."

Tobias shrugged. "Anyone can make a good Roman with the right mindset. By that argument, they can also make a good Greek. Or, you can take the best of both and make something truly admirable." Reyna tensed her shoulders but otherwise didn't react. "Well, I've said my peace. Now I need to get back to the ship and others." Tobias pushed off the air block and turned around, starting to walk away with his hands in his pockets.

"You think we'll just let you leave? Romans, seize him!" Octavian shouted and the small crowd surged forwards, intent on fulfilling their orders. Tobias smirked slightly when he heard that. This actually provided the perfect excuse to use something he had been working on for a while. And the best part, nobody would be hurt. Just scared.

The Romans suddenly froze as a thick and unbelievable amount of killing intent flooded the air, causing them to instinctively start sweating. Tobias's body was leaking ominous black mist that was swirling around him before starting to condense and make a shape. First were four, black fur-covered paws complete with white claws. The legs were thin and bulging with muscle, followed by a large body and tail. The last thing to form was the head, which was baring razor sharp white teeth and piercing everyones souls with white eyes. It was a black wolf, and it looked ready to tear anyone to pieces for any reason.

Tobias looked over his shoulder to look at everyone with eyes that were exactly the same color as the wolfs while black mist curled around them both, making them look exceptionally dangerous, even more so since Tobias looked bored. The killing intent coming from them made it hard to breath.

"Care to repeat that Oc**tavian?" **Tobias asked while his voice shifted to a low growl at the end. He didn't get an answer since everyone found themselves unable to move from sheer, undiluted fear pounding through them at the same rate as their frantic heartbeats. Even Reyna looked terrified while her automatons were laying on the grounds with their heads down and whining slightly.

Tobias snorted and looked away while pulling back his killing intent, causing the mist to vanish along with the wolf. He still didn't know why, but whenever he let his killing intent go like that he could manipulate the air to give it color, in this case, black and white plus the shades in between. Then he focused on what he wanted and the air would bend to his wishes, making the wolf and every single piece of hair that made its fur until the killing intent illusion, for lack of a better term, looked solid. But the whole point of him developing this skill was so he didn't have to fight those he didn't want to.

"Good bye Romans. I'll see you all again after we defeat Gaea in the ancient lands."

Ok maybe he was being a bit melodramatic with that, but sometimes you just had to. Plus he was about to use what was by far his favorite power and in a way that was going to be pretty cool. With that in mind, Tobias knelt and lightly touched the ground with his right hand. He then focused his strength into his legs and jumped.

The stone under his feet cracked into a spider web, then was pulverized into dust while Tobias vanished with wind tearing from the spot he had just been, forcing the Romans to over their eyes as the stone dust was kicked up. At least Tobias thought so, since he was using his power to fly a few hundred feet above them so the details were blurred with distance.

"See ya," he muttered before looking at the horizon. The _Argo II _was long gone, but he could use his links with Kazehana and Yahan to sense their general direction. He vanished with a sonic boom, tearing across the sky towards them.

* * *

_**Leo**_

After raiding a museum full of Confederate ghosts, Leo didn't think his day could get any worse. He was wrong.

They hadn't found anything in the Civil War sub or elsewhere in the museum; just a few elderly tourists, a dozen security guards, and- when they had tried to inspect then- a whole battalion of glowing zombies dudes in gray uniforms. Oh, and the idea that Frank should be able to control their spirits? Yeah...that pretty much failed. By the time Piper had sent her Iris-message warning them about the Roman attack, the were already have way back to the ship, having been crashed through downtown Charleston by a pack of angry dead Confederates.

Then- oh, boy!- Leo got to hitch a ride with Frank the Friendly Eagle so they could fight a bunch of Romans. Rumor must've gotten around that Leo was the one who had fired on their little city, because those Romans seemed especially anxious to kill him.

But wait! There's more! Coach Hedge shot them out of the sky; Frank dropped him (that was no accident) and they crash-landed in Fort Sumter.

Now, as the _Argo II _raced across the waves, Leo had to use all his skill just to keep the ship in one piece. Jason, Percy, and Kazehana had been a little _too _good at cooking up that storm.

At one point, Annabeth stood next to him, yelling against the roar of the wind: "Percy says he talked to a Nereid in Charleston Harbor!"

"Good for him!" Leo yelled back.

"The Nereid said we should seek help from Chiron's brothers."

"What does that mean? The Party Ponies?" Leo had never meet Chiron's crazy centaur relatives, but he'd heard rumors of Nerf sword fights, root beer chugging contests, and Super Soakers filled with whipped cream.

"Not sure," Annabeth said. "But I've got coordinates. Can you input longitude and latitude into this thing?"

"I can input star charts and order you a smoothie, if you want. Of _course_ I can do longitude and latitude!"

Annabeth rattled off the numbers and Leo managed to input them while holding the wheel with one hand. A red dot popped up on the bronze display screen.

"That location is in the middle of the Atlantic," he said. "Do the Party Ponies have a yacht?"

Annabeth shrugged helplessly. "Just hold the ship together until we get farther from Charleston. Jason, Percy, and Kazehana will keep up the winds!"

"Happy fun time!"

It seemed like forever, but eventually the sea calmed and the winds died.

"Valdez , Said Coach Hedge, with surprising gentleness. "Let me take the wheel. You've been steering for two hours.

"Two hours?"

"Yeah. Give me the wheel."

"Coach?"

"Yeah, kid?"

"I can't unclench my hands."

It was true. Leo's fingers felt like they had turned to stone, his eyes burned from looking at the horizon, and his legs felt like marshmallow. Coach Hedge managed to pry him from the wheel. Leo took one last look at the console, listening to Festus chatter and whir a status report. He felt like he was forgetting something, but he could barely get his eyes to focus, let alone his mind. "Just watch out for monsters," he told the coach. And be careful with the damaged stabilizer-"

"I've got it covered," Coach Hedge promised. "Now, go away!"

Leo nodded wearily. He staggered across the deck towards his friends. Percy and Jason sat with their backs against the mast, their heads slumped in exhaustion. Annabeth and Piper were trying to get them to drink some water. Hazel and Frank stood just out of earshot, having an argument that involves lots of arm waving and head shaking. Leo shouldn't have felt pleased about that, but part of him did. The other part of him felt bad that he felt pleased. Kazehana and Yahan were both are the railings and looking back the direction they had come. Leo noted offhandedly that Kazehana didn't look nearly exhausted as Percy and Jason did, but she did look tired regardless.

Everyone noticed Leo approaching and gathered at the mast.

Frank scowled like he was trying hard to turn into a bull dog. "No sign of pursuit." He said.

"Or land." Hazel added. She looked a little green, but Leo wasn't sure of it was from the rocking of the boat, or from arguing.

Leo scanned the horizon and saw nothing but ocean in every direction. That didn't surprise him. He'd spent six months building a ship that he knew would cross the Atlantic, but until today, embarking on their journey to the ancient lands hadn't felt real. Leo had never been outside the U.S before, except for a quick dragon flight into Quebec. Now they are completely on their own in the middle of the open sea, sailing to the Mare Nostrum, where all the scary monsters and nasty giants had come from. The Romans wouldn't follow them, but they couldn't count on help from Camp Half-Blood either.

Plus, they had left behind their friend Tobias when he had sacrificed himself to get Annabeth on board and made them left without him. So he was stuck with a bunch of Romans and was now their prisoner or stuck in the middle of nowhere with no way to get back to them. Real great options. He looked at Annabeth and noticed that she was looking at Kazehana and Yahan guiltily.

"I'm sorry Tobias got left behind. He was a good guy," she spoke up, sounding guilt ridden and sincere, but her bringing up the subject just seemed to depress the others.

"Eehh, don't be, he'll be fine." Yahan dismissed the apology rather casually, which brought up everyone short. Now that Leo looked at them, neither Yahan or Kazehana looked the least bit upset that their boyfriend had been abandoned with a bunch of war-frenzy Romans. Which confused him. A lot.

Before he could ask anything (what he would've asked, he wasn't sure) Festus started clicking and creaking again urgently.

"That doesn't sound good." Piper commented.

"Festus says something's coming at high speed towards us," Leo translated. Festus added more to his statement. "_Really_ high speed." More clicking and clacking. "Wait, that can't be right. He's saying..."

Leo was interrupted by a massive _BOOM _that shook the air and boat as something black shot over the ship and kept going towards the horizon. At least Leo thought it was heading for the horizon. It was hard to tell because he had been knocked to the ground when the ship had shaken and caused him to lose his balance, and nobody else had fared much better. Kazehana and Yahan, however, had managed to stay upright but only because they had grabbed something to keep their balance.

"What the heck was that?" Piper asked as she got up off the deck, but he voice sounded muffled since Leo's ears were ringing from the loud noise.

"Whatever it was, it's coming back," Annabeth pointed at the black object to show it was making a wide turn back towards them. "Leo, we're going to need weapons."

"No you won't," Kazehana smiled. "Just wait a minute until he gets here."

"Until who..." Leo stopped his question since he could see what the thing that had just blown past them at the speed of sound much clearer now. It was smaller, human-sized actually. And it seemed to be dressed in black...

"No...way."

That sentence seemed to sum up what the others were thinking pretty well. Reason being the thing that landed on the ships deck easily revealed itself to be Tobias.

"Sorry about that, it's hard to stop when your going as fast as the speed of sound." He said while smoothing out his rumpled hair. Aside from that, slightly bloodshot eyes, and messed up clothes, Tobias looked completely unharmed.

"How-how-how," for the first time since he had known her, Annabeth was so shocked she couldn't seem to speak what was on her mind.

"Deep breaths Annabeth." Tobias told her before giving a hug to Kazehana and Yahan.

"So, how'd it go?" Yahan asked with a small, self satisfied smirk on her face

"Ok. Talked to Reyna, made Octavian look like an idiot, then scared them to Tartarus when they tried to stop me from leaving. Overall, I think it went pretty good."

"Excuse me," Leo raised his hand.

"Yes Leo?"

"When in Hades did you learn to fly?" He had a lot of questions on his mind, but having just seen his newest friend tear across the sky at the speed of sound made that question the most pressing.

"I'd like to know the answer that myself." Jason spoke up while looking at Tobias.

"I've been able to fly for months now," Tobias responded simply. "I just didn't use that skill because there was no reason to until now, but that's not the issue we should be addressing." He looked at Annabeth. "Did you get that map you were looking for?" Tobias's tone made it clear the subject was closed.

She nodded, but she also looked pale. Leo wondered what if she had seen something at Fort Sumter that had shaken her up or if it was the fact that somebody who had apparently risked his life so she could escape was standing right in front of her.

"Yeah, but I still need to study," she said, sounding like that subject was closed too. She then looked guilty. "Tobias, I'm really sorry..."

"Don't be," Tobias cut her off. "You needed help, I gave it to you, and quite frankly those Romans never had a chance at capturing me. No offense." He said this to Frank, Hazel, and Jason. "So there's nothing to apologize about."

Annabeth looked relieved. "Thank you anyways."

"No problem. So, what did I miss?" He was quickly brought up to speed on Percy's talk with the Nereid and that they were heading to coordinates that she had given him. "And how far are we from them?"

"At top rowing speed, about an hour," Leo answered. "But I have no clue what we're looking for. Annabeth?"

"No," she admitted. "Percy?"

Percy had apparently recovered enough energy to lift his head again, but his eyes were still bloodshot and droopy. "Uh, the Nereid said Chiron's brothers were at those coordinates they gave me, and that they'd want to hear about that aquarium in Atlanta. I don't know what she meant but..." He paused, like he had used up what energy he had left saying that much. "She also warned me to be careful of sea monsters. Keto, the goddess at the aquarium: she's the mother of sea monsters. She's stuck in Atlanta, but she can still send her children after us to attack."

"Wonderful." Frank muttered.

Jason tried to stand, which wasn't a good idea. Piper grabbed him to keep him from falling over and he slid back down the mast.

"Can we get this ship aloft?" He asked. "If we could fly-"

"That be great," Leo said. "Except Festus tells me that the port aerial stabilizer got pulverized when the ship raked against the deck at Fort Sumter."

"We were in a hurry trying to save you," Kazehana pointed out. "And give Annabeth enough time to get what she needed."

"And they're both very noble causes," Leo agreed. "I'm just saying until I fix it, we're not flying anywhere. Unless... Tobias, can you and Kazehana pull off that trick you did at back at the Great Salt Lake?"

"No way," Tobias shook his head. "Kazehana is exhausted and while I could do it on my own, traveling at the speed of sound to catch up to you has my mind shot. I can still do some basic manipulation, but the vibrations of breaking the sound barrier has made that kind of manipulation impossible for the time being. The best I can do is make enough wind to push the ship faster."

Percy flexed his shoulders and winced. "Fine with me. The sea is good."

"Speak for yourself." Hazel glanced at the evening sun, almost to the horizon. "We need to go fast. We've burned another day, and Nico only has three more left."

"We can do it," Leo promised. He hoped Hazel had forgiven him for not trusting her brother (hey, it had seemed like a reasonable suspicion to Leo), but he didn't want to reopen that wound. "We can make it to Rome in three days. Assuming, you know, nothing unexpected happens."

Frank grunted. He looked like he was trying that bulldog transformation again. "Is there any _good_ news?"

"Actually yes," Leo said. "According to Festus, our flying table, Buford, made it back safety while we were in Charleston, so those eagles didn't get him. Unfortunately, he lost the laundry with your pants."

"Dang it!" Frank barked, which Leo figured was severe profanity for him. No doubt he would've cursed some more, breaking out the _golly gees _and _gosh darns_, but Percy interrupted him by doubling over and groaning.

"Did the world just turn upside down?" He asked.

Jason pressed his hands to his head. "Yeah, and it's spinning. Everything is yellow. Is it supposed to be yellow?"

"Whoa!" Tobias caught Kazehana when her legs apparently gave out. "Are you ok?" He asked in concern.

"No, I feel really drained all of a sudden." She groaned out. Now that Leo looked at her, she did look paler than normal, and she was sweating slightly.

"Summoning that storm must've drained all your strength," Tobias looked at the boys too. "You all need to get some rest."

Annabeth nodded in agreement. "Frank, can you help us get the boys downstairs?"

Frank glanced at Leo, no doubt reluctant to leave him alone with Hazel.

"It's fine, man," Leo said. "Just try not to stop them on the way down the stairs."

"Hey Piper, do you mind if I put Kazehana in your room?" Tobias asked while putting one of the woman's arms over his shoulder to support her.

"No, it's fine, go right ahead."

Once the others were below, Hazel and Leo faced each other awkwardly while Yahan innocently whistled and wandered off. So they were basically alone, except for Coach Hedge, who was back on deck singing the _Pokémon _theme song. The coach had changed the words to _Gotta Kill 'Em All_, and Leo really didn't want to know why. The song didn't seem to help Hazel's nausea.

"Ugh..." She leaned over and hugged her sides. She had nice hair- frizzy and golden brown like curls of cinnamon. Her hair reminded Leo of a place in Houston that made excellent churros. The thought made him hungry.

"Don't lean over," he advised. "And don't close your eyes. It just makes the queasiness worse."

"It does? Do you get seasick too?"

"Not seasick. But cars make me nauseous, and..." He stopped himself. He wanted to say _talking to girls, _but he decided to keep that to himself.

"Cars?" Hazel straightened with difficulty. "You can sail a ship or fly a dragon, but cars make you sick?"

"I know, right?" Leo shrugged. "I'm special that way. Look, keep your eyes on the horizon that's a fixed point, it'll help."

Hazel took a deep breath and stared into the distance. Her eyes were a lustrous gold, like the copper and bronze gears in Festus's mechanical head.

"Any better?" He asked.

"Maybe a little." She sounded like she was just being polite. She kept her eyes on the horizon, but Leo got the feeling she was gauging his mood, considering what to say. "Frank didn't drop you on purpose," she said. "He's not like that. He's just a little clumsy sometimes."

"_Oops_," Leo said in his best Frank Zhang voice. "_Dropped Leo into a squad of enemy soldiers. Dang it!"_

Hazel tried to suppress a smile. Leo figured that smiling was better than throwing up.

"Go easy on him," Hazel said. "You and your fireballs make Frank nervous."

"The guy can turn into a elephant, and _I _make _him _nervous?"

Hazel kept her eyes on the horizon. She didn't looked quite as queasy as before, despite the fact that Coach Hedge was still singing his _Pokémon_ song at the helm.

Leo," she said. "About what happened at the Great Salt Lake..."

Here it comes, Leo though.

He remembered their meeting with the revenge goddess Nemesis. The fortune cookie in his tool belt started to feel heavier. Last night, as they flew from Atlanta, Leo had lain in his cabin and thought about how angry he'd made Hazel. He had thought about ways he could make it right. He had taken out that fortune cookie Nemesis had given him and turned it over in his hands, wondering what was price he would have to pay if he broke it open.

Maybe now was the moment.

"I'd be willing," he told her. "I could use the fortune cookie to find your brother."

Hazel looked stunned. "What? No! I mean...I'd never ask you to do that. Not after what Nemesis said about the horrible cost. We barely _know _each other!"

The _barely know each other_ comment kind of hurt, despite the fact Leo knew it was true.

"So...that's not what you wanted to talk about?" He asked, not entirely sure what else there was _to_ talk about.

"Um, well," she fanned her face in that cute way she did when she was flustered. "I was thinking about the way you tricked narcissus and those nymphs..."

"Oh, right." Leo glanced at his arm. The _hot stuff_ tattoo still hadn't completely faded. "Seemed like a good idea at the time."

"You were amazing," Hazel said. "I've been mulling it over, how much you remind me of-"

"Sammy," Leo guessed. "I wish you'd tell me who he is."

"Who he _was_," Hazel corrected. The evening air was warm, but she shivered. "I've been thinking...I might be able to show you."

"You mean like a photo?"

"No. There's a sort of flashback that happens to me. I haven't had one in a long time, and I've never tried to make one happen on purpose. But I shared one with Frank once, so I thought..."

Hazel locked eyes with him. Leo started feeling jittery, like he had been injected with coffee. If this flashback was something Frank had shared with Hazel...well, either Leo didn't want any part of it, or he _definitely _wanted to try it. He wasn't sure which.

He swallowed. "When you say flashback, what exactly are you talking about? Is it safe?"

Hazel held out her hand. "I wouldn't ask you to do this, but I'm sure it's important. It _can't _be coincidence we met. If this works, maybe we can finally understand how we're connected."

Leo glanced at the helm. He still had a nagging suspicion that he'd forgotten something, but Coach Hedge seemed to be doing fine. The sky ahead was clear, and there was no sign of trouble. Besides, a flashback sounded like a pretty brief thing. It couldn't hurt to leave Coach in charge for a few more minutes?

"Ok," he relented. "Show me."

He took Hazel's hand and the world dissolved.

* * *

**A/N: Well, it's done. I know what I said that there would be two surprises in this chapter, one regarding Tobias and one at the end, but it actually forgot about Chiron's brothers so I have to do that first. Sorry! The surprise **_**will**_ **still happen, but it'll have to be later.**

**Um, what else? Next chapter will skip the flashback because I'm not making any changes to that, so it'll open up with them just coming out of it and then...well that's for me to know and you to find out. But please review and let me know what you think.**

**(P.S: a review recently pointed out that there's some elements of Doctor Who mentioned in this story. Yes, there is, and there is a reason for that. Check my profile to find out why, and if anyone out there has a problem with Doctor Who... Too freaking bad, this is my story and OC, and I will do whatever I want.)**


	10. Chapter 10

_**Leo**_

Well, Leo had gone through a lot in the past few minutes. He had seen Hazel's past life when she had been a little girl at St. Agnes Academy for Colored Children and Indians with the current Hazel as a ghost. Hazel had been a little girl, around eleven years old, and extremely unpopular with her classmates. She had been called "witch girl" by them and bullied while one of them, a brute by the name of Rufus had demanded a diamond from her.

She had refused but he kept scaring her until one had appeared by accident. Then Leo had gotten the big shock. A kid who looked exactly like him named Sammy Valdez, who had been holding a _DUNCE_ hat in his hands from apparently being scolded by a teacher, had rescued her, using quick wits and good use of the crowd of classmates to make fun of Rufus so he stopped, picking up the diamond when Rufus was distracted. They had talked, Leo noticing that young Hazel had been stricken with Sammy, and then left, leaving Leo to wonder why Sammy had been so similiar to him.

But before they could think about it too much, Hazel's power to revisit the past had taken them both to Leo's childhood home in Houston when he had been a baby. It was there that they found out Leo's connection with Sammy. Sammy had been his great grandfather, and he had told baby Leo how he had sold the small diamond, breaking his promise to Hazel that he wouldn't. He had moved to Houston from New Orleans to open up a machine shop. He expressed that he had a good life, but he regretted the fact that he never saw Hazel again. He asked baby Leo to be his stunt double, sensing he was special like Hazel had been, and asked Leo to tell her hello from him.

Now the scene had faded away and they were once again on the _Argo II_, Leo holding Hazel's hand. The sun had gone down so the ship was only lit with bronze lanterns. Hazel's eyes were puffy from crying over what they had seen.

Leo felt the ship rocking under his feet as the ocean heaved, and for the first time, he felt like they were totally adrift.

Leo took a shaky breath. "Hello, Hazel Levesque," he said in a gravelly voice, fulfilling the task his great-grandfather had given him when he was too young to remember.

Her chin trembled. She turned away and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, the ship lurched to one side.

"Leo!" Coach Hedge yelled.

Festus whirred in alarm and blew flames into the night sky. The ships bell rang urgently.

"Those monsters you were worried about? One of 'em found us!"

Leo didn't understand for a second. Then the thing that he had felt like he had forgotten finally hit him.

"Oh, stupid, stupid, stupid!" Leo would've smacked his head if he had time. Since he didn't, he had to settled for heading for the helm. The ship kept tilting so he was forced to grab the port rail and use it to climb sideways towards the helm, but when he saw the monster surface, he forgot how to move.

The monster was the length of their ship and in the moonlight, it looked like a cross between a giant shrimp and a cockroach, with a pink chitinous shell, flat crayfish tail, and millepede-type legs undulating hypnotically as the sea monster scraped against the hull of the ship. It's head surfaced last. It consisted of the slimy pink face of a gigantic catfish with glassy dead eyes, a gaping toothless maw, and a forest of tentacles sprouting from each nostril, which made it the bushiest nose beard Leo had ever had the displeasure of seeing.

Leo remembered special Friday night dinners he used to to share with his mom at a local seafood restaurant in Houston when they would eat shrimp and catfish. That idea now made him want to throw up.

"Come on Valdez!" Hedge yelled. "Take the wheel so I can get my baseball bat!"

"A bat's not going to help," Leo said but he kept making his way towards the helm. Behind him, the rest of his friends ran up the stairs.

Percy yelled, "What's going- Gah! Shrimpzilla!"

Tobias took one look at the monster and sighed in irritation. "Oh wonderful. This stupid thing decides to attack when Kazehana and I are crippled."

He drew his sword while Frank ran to Hazel's side. She was clutching the rigging, still dazed from the flashback, but she gestured that she was fine.

The monster reared it's head back to slam into the ship again.

"Oh no you don't!" Tobias clenched his fist and pulled back. "Divine Punishment!"

He thrust his fist forwards and a small shockwave of air fired from it, slamming into the creatures head and pushing it back as it let out what Leo assumed was a cry of pain. Despite that, the creature wasn't pushed back too much and didn't look that hurt.

Tobias scowled. "Damn it, I still don't have all my control back yet. That attack should've been a lot bigger."

Shrimpzilla apparently didn't like being attacked because it quickly rammed the ship again and rather violently. The hull groaned. Annabeth, Percy, Jason,Tobias, and Yahan stumbled to starboard and almost rolled overboard.

"Leo, what's the damage?" Tobias asked as Leo got to the helm and they started picking themselves up.

Hands flying across the console, Leo looked at the screens. "Leaks below deck, but nothing dangerous and the oars are jammed, probably from that last hit."

"How did it get so close?" Annabeth shouted as she pulled herself up on one of the rail shields.

"I don't know," Hedge snarled. He looked around for his bat, which had rolled across the quarter deck.

"I'm stupid!" Leo scolded himself. "Stupid, stupid! I forgot the sonar!"

The ship had a detection system and it had two modes, air and sea. He had designed it to act through the hull in sea mode. The hull would resonate every few seconds and send waves through the Mist, alerting Festus to any nearby monsters, but the detection system only worked in one mode at a time.

He'd been so rattled by the Romans, then the storm, then Hazel, and finally Tobias showing up as he had, it had completely slipped his mind. And now they had a monster attacking them.

The ship tilted farther starboard. Either the monster was trying to give them a hug or it was trying to capsize them.

"Sonar?" Hedge demanded. "Pan's pipes, Valdez! Maybe if you hadn't been staring into Hazel's eyes, holding hands for so long-"

"_What?"_ Frank yelped.

"It wasn't like that!" Hazel protested.

"It doesn't matter right now!" Tobias snapped. "Jason, can you call any lightning down?"

Jason struggled to his feet. "I-" he only managed to shake his head. Summoning that storm had taken too much out of him. Leo doubted the guy could pop a spark plug in the shape he was in.

"Percy!" Annabeth said. "Can you _talk_ to that thing? Do you know what it is?"

"I don't think we can talk with that..." Tobias started to point out.

The monsters tendrils lashed across the deck so fast, Leo didn't even have time to yell, _Look out!_

One slammed Percy in the chest and sent him crashing down the steps. Another wrapped around Piper's legs and dragged her, screaming towards the rail. Dozen more tendrils curled around the mast, encircling the crossbows and ripping down the rigging.

"Nose-hair attack!" Hedge snatched up his bat and leaped into action; but his hits just bounced harmlessly off the tendrils.

Jason drew his sword and tried to free Piper, but he was still weak. His golden blade cut through the tendrils easily, but they were replaced faster than he could sever them. Annabeth unsheathed her dagger and ran through a forest of tendrils, dodging and stabbing at any target she could find. Frank pulled out his bow. He fired over the side at the creatures body, lodging arrows in the chinks in the armor; but that only seemed to annoy the monster. It bellowed and rocked the ship. The mast creaked like it might snap off.

"This is very weird and disgusting, and considering where River takes us sometimes, that's saying something." Yahan said as she drew her dagger and started cutting tendrils back, with her own back to Tobias's.

"No freaking kidding," Tobias slashed his sword and cut off three tendrils that were close together. "Leo, you got anything with more fire power!?"

Leo tried to think. They couldn't use the ballistae, the monster was too close. They needed another weapon, one that could make a big blast but not damage the ship. But what did they have...?

Leo's eyes fixed on a supply crate next to Hazel's feet.

"Hazel!" He yelled. "That box! Open it!"

She hesitated, then saw the box he meant. The label read WARNING! DO NOT OPEN.

"Open it!" Leo yelled. "Coach, take the wheel! Turn us towards the monster or we'll capsize.

Hedge danced through the tentacles with his nimble goat hooves, smashing away with gusto. He went straight for the helm and took the controls.

"Hope you got a plan!" He shouted.

"A bad one." Leo raced towards the mast.

The monster pushed against the _Argo II_ again and the deck lurched to forty five degrees. Despite everyone's efforts, there were too many tentacles to fight and they seemed to elongate as much as they wanted. They would have the _Argo II_ completely entangled soon and Percy hadn't come from below deck. The others were fighting for their lives against nose hair.

"Frank!" Leo called as he ran towards Hazel. "Buy us some time! Can you turn into a shark or something?"

Frank glanced over, scowling; and in that moment, a tentacle slammed into the big guy, knocking him overboard.

"Frank!" Tobias yelled at the same time Hazel screamed. She'd open the supply box and almost dropped the two glass vials she was holding.

Leo caught them. Both were the size of an apple and the liquid inside glowed a poisonous green. The glass was warm to the touch. Leo's chest felt like it was going to implode from guilt. He'd just distracted Frank and possibly gotten him killed, but he couldn't think about it. He had to save the ship.

"Come on!" He handed Hazel one of the vials. "We can kill the monster and save Frank!"

He hoped he wasn't lying. They were about to start heading for the port rails when they felt their hearts suddenly freeze in fear as a thick and dense filling filled the air. Even the tendrils stopped like they had frozen solid. Leo didn't want to look at what was giving off that feeling, but his eyes moved towards the source anyways.

Tobias's body was giving off black mist, which was already disturbing enough for Leo, but that wasn't all. His eyes had changed for silver to white, and his face was twisted into a silent snarl. Leo felt like his heart was now trying to break out of his chest and he was sweating. He wasn't even the target of...whatever it was Tobias was giving off, but he was still more scared then he remembered being in a long time.

"Ok, before I was irritated you attacked us, but now..." Tobias snarled for real this time and Leo felt more sweat on his skin at the sound. "Now you've pissed me off! Everyone cover your ears!"

Leo didn't know what that had to do with anything as Tobias inhaled deeply. "Divine Howl!"

Leo then understood why Tobias warned them to cover their ears as a truly horrible sound came from his mouth that made his skin crawl and eyes water while he pressed his arms to his ears. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard mixed with a wolfs howl, only amplified by a million. He dimly noticed the others doing the same and the tendrils thrashing through the air while the monster roared in pain.

The sound abruptly stopped. Leo opened his eyes to see Tobias on all fours and coughing violently, some blood coming up.

"Tobias!" Yahan knelt next to him.

"Damn it," he wheezed. "I shouldn't have tried that, not enough control." He coughed again, more blood coming up as he did. He looked up and his eyes widened.

"Look out!" He thrust his hand and clenched, pulling back. Leo felt like he was yanked by a fishing pole just as he heard something smash into the deck. He and Hazel both hit the deck with thumps while he almost dropped the vials. He looked to see a tendril had demolished a good chunk of the upper deck.

"Leo, what's in those vials?" Tobias coughed, wiping the small traces of blood that came with it. He still didn't look good but seemed to be recovering

"Huh? Uh, Greek Fire." He said, getting to his feet.

Hazel's eyes widened. "Are you crazy!? If those break we'll burn up the whole ship!"

"Not if we chuck those down its throat. We just need to..." Tobias was cut off as a tendril zipped past and slammed into his chest, causing him to cough up a lot of blood before he was thrown overboard by the force. He sunk below the waves quickly, weighed down by his sword and sheath

"No!" Yahan screamed before she was knocked aside by the same tendril while another one snaked around Leo and Hazel, squeezing them together and pulling them into the air. His arms were still free, but it took everything he had to just keep the vials of Greek Fire in his hands.

They rose ten feet, twenty feet, thirty feet above the monster and Leo saw the battle had resumed with his friends losing, slashing at the nose hairs and yelling. Coach Hedge was struggling to keep the boat for capsizing. He thought he saw Yahan slashing pretty fast with her dagger while she had a snarl on her face. And he noticed offhandedly some sort of reddish-pink marking on the back of her neck when her hair moved out of the way. Maybe a bird or something, but he had bigger problems at the moment.

"Hazel, where's the monsters mouth?" He asked as best as he could. He could see since she was blocking his view with her hair.

"It's right behind me." She said, looking over her shoulder as best she could. "Wait you aren't..."

"Just hope I throw it right." He handed her one of the vials. He needed one of his hands. "Whatever you do, throw this away from the ship."

"But..."

Taking a deep breath, Leo lifted the vial in his right hand. He pressed his left against the tentacle and summoned fire to his palm- a narrowly focused, white hot burst. That got the creatures attention. A tremble went all the way down the tentacle as it's flesh blistered under his hand. The monster roared, the tentacle lowering them slightly and letting him see it's maw. Leo threw his vial of Greek fire straight down its throat.

Things got a bit fuzzy after that. He felt the tentacle release him and Hazel. They fell. He heard a muffled explosion and saw a green flash of light inside a giant pink lampshade of the monsters body's. The water hit Leo's face like a brick wrapped in sandpaper and he sank into darkness. He clamped his mouth shut, trying not to breath, but he could feel himself losing consciousness.

Through the sting of the salt water, he thought he saw the hazy silhouette of the ships hull above, a dark oval surrounded by a fiery green aura, but he couldn't tell if it was actually on fire.

Killed by a shrimp, Leo thought bitterly. _At least let the _Argo II _survive. Let my friends be ok._ He prayed to whatever god was listening as his lungs burned and his vision began to dim.

Just as he was about to give up, a strange face hovered over him. It was a man that looked like Chiron, their trainer back at Camp Half-Blood, the same shaggy beard, curly hair,and intelligent eyes that were somewhere between a wild hippie and fatherly professor. Also his skin was the color of a lima bean. He silently held up a dagger, his expression grim and reproachful, as if to say: _Now, hold still, of I can't kill you properly_.

Leo then blacked out.

* * *

When Leo woke, he wondered if he was a ghost like he had been in his flashback with Hazel, because he was floating weightlessly. His eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light.

"About time." Frank's voice had too much reverb, like he was speaking through several layers of plastic wrap.

Leo sat up...or rather he drifted upright. He was underwater, in a cave about the size of a two-car garage. Phosphorescent moss covered the ceiling, bathing the room in a blue-and-green glow. The floor was a carpet of sea urchins, which would've been very uncomfortable to walk on, so Leo was grateful he was floating. He just didn't understand how he was breathing with no air.

"Leave him alone Frank, he did chuck a vial of Greek fire into that monsters throat." Tobias's voice spoke up, but he sounded a bit moody.

Leo looked to his right to see Frank and Tobias. Frank was levitating nearby in a meditation position. With his chubby face and grump expression, he looked like a Buddha that had achieved enlightenment and wasn't thrilled about it. Tobias was on his back with his arms under his head and he didn't look happy either. In fact, he looked a bit sullen.

The only exit of the cave was blocked by a massive abalone shell, it's surface glistening in pearl and rose and turquoise. If the cave was a prison, at least it had an awesome door.

"Where are we?" Leo asked. "Where is everyone?"

"Everyone?" Frank grumbled. "I don't know. As far as I can tell, it's just you, me, Tobias, and Hazel down here. The fish-horse guys took Hazel an hour ago leaving us here."

"Oh, and they took our weapons by the way." Tobias added. Now that he looked, Leo noticed Frank didn't have his bow and arrows and Tobias was missing his sword. In a panic, Leo patted his waist. His tool belt was gone too. "Took anything that could be a weapon, except this." He lifted his right arm to show he still had his gauntlet.

"Why didn't they take that?"

"They can't. Unless I say a specific password, it's impossible to remove. And if someone were to, say, cut off my hand, then it just self-destructs." He put his arm back under his head casually.

"So, who are these fish-horse...?" Leo asked, wanting to move away from that subject

"Fish-horse guys," Frank clarified. "They must've grabbed us when we fell into the ocean and dragged us to...wherever this is."

"It's about a mile or so below the surface, beyond that, I don't know." Tobias spoke up.

"And you know that because..." Frank prompted.

Tobias looked at them both to show those really unnerving white eyes again. "I have three levels of power, my eyes changing color every time I do. And when I do, my limit of air manipulation get higher. Base level, five to six hundred yards. Next level, a mile. Last level..." He paused for a second. "Ten miles."

"Uh...that's a lot of power." Leo said awkwardly.

"No freaking duh Leo." Tobias snapped back as he looked at the ceiling.

"What's with you?" Leo asked.

Tobias sighed. "Sorry, but whatever those horse guys did also suppressed my bonds with my girlfriends, so I'm short tempered right now. Also, you'll be happy to know the ship survived hat monster attack."

Leo sighed a breath of relief. "So everyone's ok?"

"Nearest I can tell, being underwater jams my sensing a good amount, plus sensing through this rock." Tobias grunted as he floated upright. "So, can I ask what you and Hazel were doing before the ship was attacked?"

"What do you...?" Leo stopped asking when he realized what Tobias meant and when Frank's expression darkened: the flashback. Things had happened so fast with the monster attack, Leo had almost forgotten about it. Coach Hedge had made that stupid comment about him and Hazel holding hands and gazing into each other's eyes. It probably didn't help that Leo had gotten Frank knocked overboard right after that.

Suddenly Leo found it hard to meet Frank's gaze.

"Oh, uh...look guys, I'm sorry about getting us into this mess. I really jacked things up," he took a deep breath, which was surprisingly normal since they were underwater. "Listen, Frank, me and Hazel holding hands...it's not what you think. She was showing me this flashback from her past, trying to figure out my connection with Sammy."

Franks angry expression slowly unknotted to be replaced by curiosity. "Did she... Did you figure it out?"

"Yeah," Leo said. "Well, sort of. We didn't get a chance to talk about it afterward because of Shrimpzilla, but Sammy was my great-grandfather."

He told both Frank and Tobias what they'd seen. The weirdness still hadn't fully registered yet, but now, trying to explain it out loud, Leo could hardly believe it. Hazel had been sweet on his _bisabuelo,_ a guy who had died when Leo was a baby. Leo hadn't made the connection before, but he had a vague memory of older family members calling his grandfather Sam Junior. At some point, his old babysitter Tia Callida- whom he later learned was Hera- had approached Sammy, consoling him and giving him a glimpse into the future, which meant Hera had been shaping his life since before he was born. If Hazel had stayed in the 1940's, if she'd married Sammy, Leo might've been her great-grandson.

"Oh, man," Leo said when he finished the story. "I don't feel so good. But I swear on the Styx, that's what we saw."

Tobias whistled while Frank had the same expression as the catfish monster- wide glassy eyes and an open mouth. "Hazel...Hazel liked your _great-grandfather_? That's why she likes you?"

"I have seen some weird things in my travels, but that is one of the weirdest." Tobias commented.

"Hey, I know this is weird guys. _Believe _me. But Frank, I don't like Hazel like that. I'm not making a move on your girl."

Frank knit his eyebrows together. "No?"

Leo hoped he wasn't blushing. Truthfully, he had no idea how he felt about was awesome and cute, and Leo had a weakness for awesome cute girls. But the flashback. had complicated his feelings _a lot_.

Besides, his friends and ship were in trouble.

Wow, that was actually new for him. His dad Hephaestus had admitted he wasn't good with organic life-forms and Leo had inherited that particular trait quite well. So yes, he had always been more comfortable with machines rather than people. But he did care about his friends. He had know Piper and Jason the longest, but the others were important too. Even Frank. Even Tobias and his girlfriends, despite the fact he had known them for a short while. They were all like family.

The problem was, it had been so long since he had _had_ a family,meh couldn't remember how it felt. Sure, last winter he had become senior counselor of the Hephaestus cabin, but he had spent most of his time building the ship. He liked his cabin mates and knew how to work with them- but did he really know them? If Leo had a family, it was the crew of the _Argo II_. And maybe Coach Hedge, but he'd never admit that out loud.

_You will always be the outsider, _warned Nemesis's voice, but Leo tried to push the thought aside.

"Right, so..." He looked around him. "We need to make a plan. How are we breathing? If we're underwater, shouldn't we be crushed by the water pressure?"

"No we shouldn't," Tobias lifted his right hand, palm up. "Watch this."

He focused on his right hand and Leo watched as a air bubbled started forming, growing larger and larger until it was the size of a grapefruit.

"Neat, huh?" Tobias asked as the bubbled floated upwards and flattened against the ceiling. "I vaguely remember one of those guys touching my forehead with a dagger tip and suddenly being able to breath. Reason being is there's a self-regenerating air membrane around us, and it's pretty thin too. Less than an eighth of an inch thick."

"How do you know this stuff?" Frank asked.

"Air is my business Frank. Anything involving it, I can learn everything about it or at least make an educated guess," Tobias explained. "So Leo, I would recommend not using your fire power unless you want to suffocate from burning of all you oxygen."

Good advice, Leo thought. He didn't fancy going out by suffocation due to his own power.

"Well, we're going to be here for a while yet," Leo spoke up. "Any ideas to pass the time?"

"Well I know you guys still have questions about me, so ask away. I'm bored anyways." Tobias leaned back and floated like he was in a hammock.

"Um, ok," Frank sounded surprised by the sudden offer but he asked his first question. "Uh, where do you come from? Like, your home?"

Tobias snorted and then chuckled, but Leo didn't get why he found the question amusing. "I guess you'd say England."

"Really? You don't sound English." Leo pointed out.

"You also don't sound Hispanic and Frank doesn't sound Chinese. What's your point?"

"Uh, nothing. So, how long have you had your powers? I mean, you said you weren't a demigod, so..."

Tobias lifted his hand and two fingers as a air bubble formed off them. He took his hand away and it simply floated there. It then wiggled before taking the shape of a cube. Then a four sided pyramid.

"I've had them since I was born, but I didn't start learning to control them until I was four or five. It then took me ten years to get to the level where I only needed to think with minal gestures to get what I wanted. But I never really stop improving my control." He made his point by snapping his fingers and making the pyramid form into a rough mold of Kazehana then Yahan's face. He frowned and said, "Ugh," before letting the mold collapse and float towards the ceiling. "It's not the same. Frank, you have any questions?"

"Yeah," Frank shifted uncomfortably. "Uh...how do you and your girlfriends trust each other so easily? I mean...you never seem to doubt each other."

Tobias chuckled. "Are you really asking _me_ for relationship advice Frank?" The Roman demigod blushed but didn't respond. Tobias sighed, still sounding amused. "Sorry to disappoint, but I can't help you there Frank. My relationship with Kazehana and Yahan are nowhere near normal. But I do have a sort of metaphor about love. Care to hear it?"

"Sure."

"Ok then. I look at it like making a painting. You start off with a goal in mind, an end result. Along the way, that goal will change as you learn new things. You make mistakes that you have to fix. Sometimes you change something about yourself to make yourself better. And if you put in the effort, then the end result will be a work of art. Something good, something you put a lot of work in and you're proud of the end result."

"Wow, that's...philosophical." Leo commented.

"You can't see as much as I have and not get like that sometimes. Plus, River was always a bit weird, so it's rubbed off on me." Tobias explained.

"Why do you call your mom River?"

"That's her name," Tobias shrugged. "River Song. Plus calling her mom or mother always felt weird to both of us so we keep it casual."

"So what about your dad?" Leo wished he could've taken that question back considering how much Tobias's face darkened. Sometimes he wished he had more social skills so he could avoid these situations.

"Never met him." Tobias said flatly. "Don't really care either. Actually, correction, I've never met my biological father, I have met my stepfather."

"Ok, what's he like?" Frank asked.

Tobias chuckled and then burst out laughing for a few seconds, which really confused Leo and a quick look showed the same expression on Frank's face.

"Oh, I can't possibly describe him. It'd be like trying to describe eleven different people." He chuckled for a few more seconds before taking a breath. "Oh, that was good I needed a laugh. Um, well he does have some consistencies. He travels around a lot and uh, solves people's problems for them. He's a...doctor."

"Really? So he just, what, goes around tending to the sick and wounded and whoever else? And he doesn't ask for anything?" Frank asked.

"No. He just likes help people all the time," Tobias shrugged. "So does River and some of my other friends actually, but that's not important. What about you two? You have any stories or things I should know? Like Leo, what's the story with your fire power?"

Wow, that seemed rather insensitive but Leo couldn't blame the guy. He didn't know that Leo had some bad experiences with his powers. He also noticed that Frank winced slightly at the word _fire_. He remembered what Hazel had said- that his fire made Frank nervous. He'd seen the discomfort on Frank's face before but Leo had never taken it seriously. Frank had seemed _way_ more powerful and scary then Leo was.

Now that Tobias had brought up his powers, it occurred to him that Frank might have a bad experience with fire like him. Leo's own mom had died in a machine shop blaze. He'd been blamed and grown up being called a freak, an arsonist, because when he got angry, things burned.

"It's ok if you don't want to talk about it, I was just curious." Tobias spoke up, looking at them both.

"No, no it's ok, you have guys have a right to know," Leo took a breath. "I was born with my power. It's a...gift from my father Hephaestus, since I was apparently destined to be on this quest since before I was born, so...yeah I got fire at my fingertips, and arms, and feet, pretty much anywhere on my body can burst into flames."

"Hhmm. Neat," Tobias nodded. "But I'm guessing something that powerful has some drawbacks."

"Um, yeah. I can't always control it. When I get really mad, or...scared of something it goes out of control." He admitted quietly. He didn't want to give them the whole story. Not right now.

"Oh. Well, that's better than my powers drawback. If I use it too much or push myself too hard, I end up getting a killer headache and that causes my control to start slipping," Tobias offered up. "And if I get really angry my powers go a little out of control."

"Um, how out of control are we talking?" Frank asked.

"Well, one time Kazehana nearly got killed right in front of me, which almost resulted in me destroying an entire city bridge and killing the person responsible. If events hadn't played out like they did...well, let's say a city might've gone missing and I might've been killed from overuse of my powers."

"Wow, that's...that's out of control." Leo said shakingly.

"Don't worry, that was before I really connected with Kazehana and Yahan. Now they can use their bonds to pull me out of that kind of anger if they need to, but I doubt I'll ever get that bad again." Tobias said flippantly. "What about you Frank? You have any weakness that comes with your shape-shifting?"

Frank seemed like he was saying how much to say. "Well...mine is sort of linked to fire. And I don't have good experiences with it. My home...my grandmothers house burned down. And..." He stared down at the sea urchins on the floor. "Annabeth said I could trust the crew. Even Leo. And I think you're an ok guy Tobias."

"Even me, huh?" Leo wondered how that came up on conversation. "Wow, high praise."

"Thanks Frank. That means a lot." Tobias nodded with a small smile.

Frank took a deep breath. "My weakness..." He spoke like the words cut his mouth. "There's this piece of firewood-"

The abalone door rolled open with a slight rumble.

Leo turned and found himself face-to-face with Lima Bean man who actually wasn't a man at all. Now that Leo got a proper look at him, the guy was by far the weirdest creature he'd ever met, and that was saying a lot.

From the waist up, he was more or less human. A thin, bare chested dude with a dagger in his belt and a band of seashells strapped across his chest like a bandolier. His skin was green, his brown beard scraggly, and his longish hair tied back in a seaweed bandana. And pair of lobster claws stuck up from his head like horns, turning and snapping at random.

Leo decided he didn't look so much like Chiron, he looked more like a poster Leo's mom used to keep in her workspace. One that showed the old Mexican bandit Pancho Villa, except with seashells and lobster horns.

From the waist down the guy was more complicated. He had the forelegs of a blue-green horse, like a centaur, but towards the back, his horse body morphed into a long fishy tail about ten feet long, with rainbow-colored, V-shaped tail fin.

Now Leo saw what the other two had meant about fish-horse guys.

"I am Bythos," said the green man. "I will interrogate Frank Zhang and Tobias Song."

His voice was calm and firm, leaving no room for debate.

"Two questions first," Tobias spoke up. "Why did you capture us and where's our friend Hazel?"

Bythos narrowed his eyes and the two had a small stare off. Tobias never blinked or looked nervous so the horse-man looked away first, at Leo. "You, Leo Valdez, will go with my brother."

"Your brother?"

Leo realized that a much larger figure looking behind Bythos, with a shadow so wide, it filled the entire cave entrance.

"Yes," Bythos said with a dry smile. "Try not to make Aphros mad."

**A/N: Ok, that's finished. So the two guys got more information about Tobias and I showed a hint of his darker side earlier, so I think I did ok. But can you please leave some reviews and let me know how I'm doing? It really helps with motivation like with every other author. Bye.**


	11. Chapter 11

_**Leo**_

Aphros looked like his brother, except he was blue instead of green and much, much bigger. He had Arnold-as-Terminator abs and arms, and a square, brutish head. A huge, Conan approved sword was strapped across his back. Even his hair was bigger, a massive globe of blue-black frizz so thick that his lobster claw horns papered to be drowning as they tried to swim their way to the surface.

"Is that why they call you Aphros?" Leo asked as they glided down the path from the cave. "Because of the Afro?"

Aphros scowled. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing," Leo said quickly. At least he wouldn't have trouble remembering which fish-horse was which. "So what _are_ you guys exactly?"

"Ichthyocentaurs," Aphros answered, sounding like it was a question he was tired of answering.

"Uh, icky what?"

"Fish centaurs. We are the half brothers of Chiron."

"Oh, he's a friend of mine!"

Aphros eyes narrowed. "The one called Hazel told us this, but we will determine the truth. Come."

Leo didn't like the sound of _determine the truth_. It made him think of torture racks and red-hot pokers.

He followed the fish centaur through a massive forest of kelp. Leo could've darted to one side and gotten lost in the plants easily, but he didn't try. For one thing, Aphros could probably travel a lot faster then him in water,and the guy might be able to shut off the magic that was letting Leo breath and move. Inside or outside the cave, Leo was just as much a captive. And that didn't even take in account that Leo had no clue where he was.

They drifted between rows of green-and-yellow kelp that were as tall as apartment buildings, but they swayed weightlessly, like columns of helium balloons. High above, Leo saw a smudge of white that might've been the sun. He guessed they'd been here overnight. Was the _Argo II_ all right? Had it sailed on, or were their friends still searching for them?

Leo remembered that Tobias had guessed they were about a mile underwater. A mile had sounded like a lot, but if plants could grow down here and sunlight could be seen, then it didn't seem that deep. Still, they couldn't just swim to the surface. He'd heard about people who ascended too quickly and developed nitrogen bubbles in their blood. Leo would like to avoid carbonated blood very much.

They drifted along for maybe half a mile. Leo wanted to ask Aphros where he was taking him, but the big sword strapped to the centaurs back sort of discouraged conversation. When the kelp forest finally opened up, Leo gasped. They were standing (swimming, whatever) at the summit of a high underwater hill. Below them stretched an entire town of Greek-style buildings on the seafloor.

The roofs were tiles with mother-of-pearl. The gardens were filled with coral and sea anemones. Hippocampi, half horse and half fish, grazed in a field of seaweed. A team of Cyclopes were placing a domed roof on a new temple, using a blue whale as a crane. And swimming through the streets, hanging out in the courtyards, practicing combat with tridents and swords in the arena, were dozen of mermen and mermaids. Honest-to-goodness fish-people. Now, Leo had seen some crazy stuff, but he always thought merpeople were silly fictional creatures like the Smurfs or Muppets.

There was absolutely nothing cute or silly about these merpeople, though. Even from a distance, they looked fierce and not at all human. Their eyes glowed yellow. They had shark like teeth and leathery skin in colors ranging from coral red to ink black.

"It's a training camp," Leo realized. He looked at Aphros in awe. "You train heros, the same way Chiron does?"

Aphros nodded, a glint of pride in his eyes. "We have trained all the greatest mer-heros! Name a mer-hero, and we have trained him or her!"

"Oh, sure," Leo said, trying to not look like a idiot. "Like...um, The Little Mermaid?" Ok, maybe that was harder than he thought.

Aphros frowned. "Who? No! Like Triton, Glaucus, Weissmuller, and Bill!"

"Oh." Leo had no idea who any of those people were. "You trained Bill? Impressive."

"Indeed!" Aphros pounded his chest. "I trained Bill myself. A great merman."

"You teach combat, I guess."

Aphros threw up his hands in exasperation. "Why does everyone assume that?"

Leo glanced at the massive sword on the fish-mans back. "Uh, I don't know."

"I teach music and poetry!" Aphros said. "Life skills, home making! These are important for heros."

"Oh, absolutely." Leo tried to keep a straight face. "Sewing? Cookie baking?"

"Yes. I'm glad you understand. Perhaps later, if I don't have to kill you, I will share my brownie recipe." Aphros gestured behind him contemptuously. "My brother Bythos, _he_ teaches combat."

Leo didn't know if he should be relieved or insulted that the combat trainer was interrogating Frank and Tobias while he was stuck with the home economics teacher. "So, great. This is Camp...what do you call it? Camp Fish-Blood?"

Aphros frowned. "I hope that was a joke. This is Camp _." He made a sound that was a series of sonar pings and hisses.

"Silly me," Leo said. "And you know, I could really go for some of those brownies! So what do we have to do to get to the _not killing me_ stage?"

"Tell me your story," Aphros said.

Leo hesitated, but not for long. Something in him told him to tell the truth, so he started at the beginning. He told Aphros how Hera had been his babysitter and place him in the flames, how his mother had died because of Gaea, who had identified Leo as a future enemy. He talked about how he had spent his childhood bouncing around in several foster homes, until he and Jason and Piper had been taken to Camp Half-Blood. He explained the Prophecy of Seven, the building of the _Argo II_, and their quest to reach Greece and defeat the giants before Gaea awoke.

As he talked, Aphros drew some wicked-looking metal spikes from his belt. Leo was afraid that he had said something wrong, but Aphros pulled some seaweed yarn from his pouch and started knitting. "Go on," he urged. "Don't stop."

Leo then explained the eidolons, the problems with the Romans, and all the troubles the _Argo II_ had encountered crossing the United States and embarking from Charleston. And he had decided to tell them how Tobias, Yahan, and Kazehana had arrived and helped them during their travels. He didn't mention what little he know about Tobias's past, sensing that was private and not to be shared with just anyone. By the time he had finished his story, Aphros had knitted a full baby bonnet.

Leo waited until the fish-centaur had put away his supplies. Aphros's lobster-claw horns kept swimming around in his hair, and Leo had to resist the urge to try to rescue them.

"Very well," Aphros said. "I believe you."

"As simple as that?"

"I am quite good at discerning lies. I hear none from you, and you story also fits with what Hazel Levesque told us."

"Is she-?"

"Of course," Aphros said. "She's fine." He put his fingers to his mouth and whistled, which sounded strange underwater, like a dolphin screaming. "My people will bring her here shortly. You just understand, our location is a closely guarded secret. You and your friends show up in a warship pursued by one of Keto's sea monsters. We did not know whose side you were on."

"Is the ship all right?"

"Damaged," Aphros said. "but not terribly. The skolopendra withdrew after a mouth full of fire. Nice touch."

"Thank you. Skolopendra? Never heard of it."

"Consider yourself lucky, they're nasty creatures. Keto must really hate you. At any rate, we rescued you and the other three from the creature's tentacles as it retreated into the deep. Your friends are still above, searching for you, but we've obscured their vision and thought probes. We had to make sure you weren't a threat or we would've needed to...take measures."

Leo gulped. He was pretty sure _taking measures_ did not mean making extra brownies. And if these guys were so powerful that they could keep this place hidden from Percy, who had all those Poseidon water powers, then these fish guys were not something to mess. Then all the sentence registered. "Wait, thought probes?"

"Yes, two of them that were apparently seeking out Tobias Song to connect with his mind. They're unique too, we've never run across any quite like them. It took some experimentation to block them, but we managed."

Those must've been Yahan and Kazehana trying to find him. Leo remembered that tattoo Yahan had on the back of her neck, a bird over some symbol. He didn't know why, but his instincts told him that symbol was important somehow, and that Kazehana most likely had the same one in the same place.

But those were thoughts for another time.

"So...we can go?"

"Soon," Aphros promised. "I must check with Bythos. When he is done talking with your friends Grank-"

"Frank."

"Frank. And Tobias. When they are done, we will send you to your ship. And we have some warnings for you."

"Warnings?"

"An." Aphros pointed. Hazel emerged from the kelp forest, escorted by two vicious-looking mermaids, who were baring their fangs and hissing. Leo thought Hazel might be in danger, until he saw she was completely at ease, grinning and talking with her escorts. And the escorts were laughing.

"Leo!" Hazel paddled towards him. "Isn't this place amazing?"

They were left on the ridge, which must've meant Aphros really did trust them. While the centaur and the mermaids went to fetch the others, Leo and Hazel floated above the hill and gazed down at the underwater camp. Hazel told him how the mermaids had warmed up to her right away. Aphros and Brythos had been fascinated by her story, as they had never met a child of Pluto before. On top of that, there were many legends about the horse Arion and they were amazed that Hazel had befriended him.

She'd promised to visit them again with Arion. The mermaids had written their numbers on her arm in waterproof ink so she could keep in touch. Leo didn't even want to ask how mermaids got cellphone coverage in the middle of the Atlantic. As Hazel talked, her hair floated around her face in a cloud, like brown earth and gold dust in a miners pan. She looked very sure of herself and very beautiful, not at all like the shy, nervous girl in the New Orleans schoolyard with her smashed canvas lunch bag at her feet.

"We didn't get to talk," Leo said. He was reluctant to bring up the subject, but he knew this might be their only chance to be alone. "I mean about Sammy."

Her smile faded. "I know...I just need some time to let it sink it. It's strange to think that you and he..." She didn't need to finish the thought. Leo knew exactly how strange it was. "I'm not sure I can explain this to Frank, about you and me holding hands." She added.

She wouldn't look at Leo's eyes. Down in the valley, the Cyclopes work crew cheered as the temple roof was set in place.

"I talk to him." Leo said. "I told him I wasn't trying to...you know, make trouble between you two."

"Oh. Good."

Did she sound disappointed? Leo wasn't sure and he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Um, I got a question about him actually," Leo said. "If it's not too much."

"Sure."

"Well, Tobias had this thought about telling everyone about each other to pass the time, and we somehow got into our powers and weakness. Frank, he mentioned a piece of firewood being his?"

Hazel stiffened slightly as he hand went to her denim jacket, like she was checking for something on her inside pocket. She always wore that jacket or an over shirt, even when it was hot outside. Leo had assumed that she did it out of modesty, or because it was better for horseback riding, like a motorcycle jacket. Now he began to wonder as his brain shifted into high gear.

Frank had said his weakness was related to a piece of firewood. He thought about why Frank had a fear of fire, and why Hazel was so attuned to those feelings. Leo thought about some stories he had heard and read back at Camp Half-Blood. For obvious reasons, he tended to pay attention to legends about fire. Now he remembered one he hadn't thought about in months.

"There was an old legend about a hero," he recalled. "His life was tied to a stick in a fireplace, and when that piece of wood burned up..." From the way Hazel's expression darkened, he knew he'd hit the truth on the head. "Frank has that problem. And he gave that piece of firewood to you for safekeeping?"

"Leo, please don't...I can't talk about it."

His instincts as a mechanic kicked in, thinking about the properties of wood and the corrosiveness of salt water. "Is the firewood ok in the ocean like this? Does the layer of air around you protect it?"

"It's fine," Hazel said. "The wood didn't even get wet. Besides, it's wrapped in several layers of cloth and plastic and-" she bit her lip in frustration. "And I'm not supposed to _talk_ about it! Leo, the point is Frank seems afraid of you or at least uneasy, you've got to understand..."

It was a good thing Leo was floating, because he probably would've been too dizzy to stand. He couldn't imagine being in Frank's position, his life so fragile, it could literally burn up at any time. Then how much trust it would take to give his life line, his entire fate, to another person. Frank had obviously chosen Hazel, so when he'd seen Leo, a guy who could summon fire at will, moving in on his girl...

Leo shuddered. No wonder Frank didn't like him. And suddenly the ability to change into a bunch of different animals didn't seem that awesome, not if it came with such a big catch like that. And his least favorite line of the Prophecy of Seven: _to storm or fire the world must fall._ For a long time, he'd figured that Jason or Percy, or maybe even both of them together stood for storm. He was the fire guy. Nobody said it, but it was clear Leo was a wildcard, and if he screwed up something, the world could fall. No...it _had_ to fall. He wondered if Frank and his firewood had something to do with that line. Leo had already made some epic mistakes, and it would be so easy to accidently send Frank Zhang up in flames.

"There you are!" Bythos's voice made Leo flinch.

Bythos and Aphros floated over with Frank and Tobias between them, Frank looking pale, but ok. Tobias looked impatient, drumming his fingers against his leg and glancing up at the surface every now and then.

"You are free to go," Bythos soda. He opened his saddle bags and returned their confiscated supplies. Leo had never been so glad to fit his toolbelt around his waist.

"Tell Percy Jackson not to worry," Aphros said. "We have understood your story about the imprisoned sea creatures in Atlanta. Keto and Phorcys must be stopped. We will send a quest of mer-heroes to defeat them and free their captives. Perhaps Cyrus?"

"Or Bill," Bythos offered.

"Yes! Bill would be perfect," Aphros agreed. "At any rate, we are grateful that Percy has brought this to our attention."

"You should talk to him in person," Leo suggested. "I mean, son of Poseidon and all."

Both fish-centaurs shook their heads solemnly. "Sometimes it is best not to interact with Poseidon's brood," Aphros said. "We are friendly with the sea god of course, but the politics of undersea deities is...complicated. And we value our independence. Nevertheless, tell Percy thank you. We will do what we can to safely speed you across the Atlantic without further interference from Keto's monsters, but be warned: in the ancient sea, the Mare Nostrum, more dangers await."

"Naturally." Frank sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Danger, monsters, possible painfully death, got it. Now I'm sorry to be rude, but can we _please _hurry the goodbyes along, I want to get back to the surface." Tobias asked quickly, clearly in a rush. Since he had gotten his sword back and on his hip, he'd been looking up at the surface of the sea and drumming his fingers on both crossed arms with a very impatient look on his face. Leo guessed the guy was so anxious to get back he would've swam if it meant he would get there faster.

"Yes, you're right. You're all short on time, but we have a few more warnings for you I'm afraid," Aphros said briskly. "Hazel, I know you are worried about the time you have lost, spending the night in our real . You are worried about your brother, Nico..."

Hazel gripped her cavalry sword. "Is he-do you know where he is?"

Aphros shook his head. "Not exactly. But when you get closer, you should be able to sense his presence. Never fear! You must reach Rome the day after tomorrow if you are to save him, but there is still time. And you _must _save him."

"Yes," Brythos agreed. "He will be essential for your journey. I am not sure how, but I sense it is true."

Aphros planted his hand on leo's shoulder. "As for you, Leo Valdez, stay close to Frank and Hazel when you reach Rome. I sense they will face...ah, _mechanical_ difficulties that only you can overcome."

"Mechanical difficulties?" Leo asked.

Aphros smiled like that was great news. "And I have gifts for you, the brave navigator of the _Argo II _!"

"I like to..."

"Leo, just take the title and let's get going." Tobias interrupted him.

"Um, right."

"Brownies!" Aphros said proudly, shoving an old-fashioned picnic basket into Leo's was surrounded by a bubble of air, which Leo hoped would keep the brownies from turning into saltwater fudge sludge. "In this basket, you will also find the recipe. Not too much butter, that's the trick! And I've given you a letter of introductions to Tiberius, the god of the Tiber River. Once you reach Rome, your friend the daughter of Athena will need this."

"Annabeth..." Leo said. "Ok, but why?"

Brythos laughed. "She follows the Mark of Athena, does she not? Tiberius can guide her in the quest. He's an ancient, proud god who can be...difficult, but letters of introduction are everything to Roman spirits. This will convince Tiberius to help her. Hopefully."

"Hopefully," Leo repeated.

Brythos produced four small pink pearls from his saddle bags.

"You'll only need three of those." Tobias said with a quick glance at the hand before he looked back up at the surface. "But we're free to go?"

"Yes." Bythos said in a confused tone.

"Finally!" Tobias's eyes turned from silver to white and Leo had the suddenly feeling he was going to see something impressive. Tobias lifted his hands and clapped them over head before spreading them apart. Nothing happened for a second, then Leo felt a curious sensation against his arm. He looked down to see a small bubble of air float past him to stop above Tobias. More and more bubbles formed out of seemingly nothing before being pulled in, making what looked like a large bubble above him. The bubble then elongated, heading for the surface faster and faster as more and more air was added to it until it reached all the way to the surface, the diameter a bit larger then Tobias.

"Thanks for everything, gotta go, bye!" Tobias said in a rush before bending down and vanishing into the tube, which collapsed behind him and transmitted a subtle but powerful vibration through the water as he broke the sound barrier inside. A few seconds later, the tube was nothing but a flurry of air bubbles rushing towards the surface.

"Um...ok, that was impressive." Hazel said in a slightly dazed tone. Leo could only agree numbly, since the guy had basically just parted the sea seemingly on a whim.

"Uh, we should get you three on your way as well." Bythos seemed similarly surprised, but he threw a pearl at each of them in turn, and three shimmering pink bubbles of energy formed around them.

They began to rise through the water. Leo just had enough time to think: _A hamster ball elevator?_ Then he gained speed and rocketed towards the distant glow of the sun above.

**A/N: Done with another one. I have no idea how I'm finding the time to crank these out, but I am. I tried to get a bit creative in places to drop more hints about Kazehana and Yahan's origins. For those of you who know, great, fantastic, I salute you. If you don't, it's ok. The manga I got them from is kinda obscure anyways, so don't get discouraged. I only know about it thanks to lostsoldierS636, so thanks to him for helping to make this story possible. Favorite, follow, and review, and I'll post the next chapter as soon as possible!**


	12. Chapter 12

_**Piper**_

Piper had a new entry in her top-ten list of _Times Piper Felt Useless._

Fighting Shrimpzilla with a dagger and pretty voice? Not so effective. The monster had sunk back into the deep and disappeared with four of her friends, and she was powerless to help them.

Afterward, Annabeth, Coach Hedge, and Buford the flying table had rushed around repairing things so the ship wouldn't sink. Percy, despite being exhausted, searched for their missing friends. Jason, also exhausted, flew around like a blond Peter Pan, putting out the small fires that had come from the monsters mouth after the Greek fire had exploded in it.

Yahan and Kazehana were both sitting on the deck near the head, eyes closed as they were apparently trying to find Tobias using their empathic link with him. Piper had learned earlier the reason Kazehana hadn't come up with Tobias was because he had apparently paralyzed her with a pinch to the neck that had worn off only after the attack. He'd been concerned about her fighting with so little power available to her and made sure she would be safe.

As for Piper, all she could do was stare at her knife Katoptris, trying to locate Tobias, Leo, Hazel, and Frank, but the only images that came to her were ones she didn't want to see. Three black SUVs driving north from Charleston, Reyna sitting at the wheel of the lead car with giant eagles escorting them from above. Every so often, glowing purple spirits in ghostly chariots appeared out of the countryside and fell in behind them, thundering up the I-95 toward New York and Camp Half-blood.

Piper concentrated harder. She saw the same nightmarish visions she'd seen before: the human headed bull rising from the water, then the well-shaped room filling the room with black water as Jason, Percy, and herself struggled to stay afloat. The only vision she didn't see was the one with Piper, Tobias, and Yahan talking on deck under the night sky. That made her more nervous than she cared to admit.

She sheathed Katoptris, wonder how Helen of Troy had stayed sane during the Trojan War if this blade had been her only source of news. Then she remembered that everyone around Helen had been slaughtered by the invading Greek army. Maybe she _hadn't _stayed sane.

By the time the sun rose, none of them had slept. Perch and scoured the sea floor and found nothing. The _Argo II _was no longer in danger of sinking, though they couldn't do full repairs without Leo. The ship was fully capable of sailing, but no one suggested leaving the area. For one thing, none of them wanted to leave without their friends. For another, Kazehana and Yahan had made it excruciatingly clear that anybody who even though that would end up being in extreme amounts of pain. They hadn't flat out said that, but their tone, eyes, and body language had done that for them.

Piper and Annabeth sent a dream vision to Camp Half-Blood, warning Chiron of what has happened with the Romans, but didn't mention their new friends. Firstly, they weren't sure they wanted anyone else to know about them. Secondly, it would be difficult enough to explain how they had arrived, never mind their capabilities and weapons. Piper _had_ relayed the vision in her knife about the SUVs racing north. The kindly centaurs face seemed to age thirty years during the course of their conversation, but he assured them he would see to the defenses of the camp.

After the Iris-message, the demigods paced the deck in silence and stared at the water, waiting for a miracle.

That eventually brought Piper to the front of the ship where Kazehana and Yahan were still sitting. Their hands were together and pressed against their chests, eyes closed and chests slowly rising and falling with every breath. They'd been like this since after the attack and getting things under control enough that the other demigods could do the work, then come up here and apparently started searching with their links.

Piper sat down next to them quietly, looking at them both. Despite the fact their faces were calm, she could tell there was an undercurrent of anger and frustration in them both. She then spoke up, reluctant to break the silence but seeing no other option.

"Anything?" She asked.

"No," Yahan's snarl caught Piper off guard, as did the sheer amount of anger in her eyes when she opened them. "Something's blocking our link with him and we can't get around it no matter what we try." She had put her hands down and were flexing them like she was tempted to strangle something. Piper inched back slightly to reduce the chances of that something being her.

Kazehana took a deep breath and put both hands down on deck, eyes still closed. She then lifted her right hand a few inches, made a fist, and smashed it through the wood of the deck easily, the crack resonating through the still air like a gunshot. Piper jumped at the sound.

"Are you ok?" She asked worriedly when she saw several splinters embedded in the hand with small traces of blood oozing from each one.

"I'll be ok when Tobias is back with us and we're away from this place. Until then..."

Piper could deal with a lot of things, but the calm in that voice and her eyes made goosebumps explode across her body. It couldn't be called the calm before the storm, it was more like the calm before a goddess obliterated everything in her path. And she didn't want to be pessimistic, but...

"How do you know he's not...dead?" Piper didn't want to ask, but she still remembered the amount of blood that had come from Tobias's mouth after being hit in the chest by Shrimpzilla's tendril. A hit like that would've broken at least two ribs, combined with being dragged into the ocean under the weight of his sword and sheath, and it didn't paint a pretty picture.

"If he was, we wouldn't be here. He's alive, but we can't find him and he apparently can't contact us. Otherwise, we would've heard something by now." Kazehana explained calmly as she stood and stretched, popping a few bones back into place when she did.

"She's right. The bond we share with him makes it so if he was ever clinically dead for more than an hour, we'd die as well." Yahan explained as the two of them went to the starboard railing and leaned against it, Piper hurrying to follow them.

"That's horrible! If he dies, you die with him?" Piper said in shock and disgust, wondering what kind of bond forced two people to die if one died before them.

"Life isn't worth living without Tobias. If he dies, we don't have a reason to keep living ourselves." Yahan said in a melancholy tone, gazing out at the sea with sad eyes.

"Hhmm," Kazehana hummed in agreement.

Piper wasn't sure what to think. The bond they had just described wared between beautiful and despicable at the same time. It let these three connect on an emotional level, sharing feelings in a way most would never experience and form an intimacy between them where they apparently knew everything about the other, but if Tobias died, then the other two would go with him. Despite that, Yahan and Kazehana didn't seem the least bit bothered by the fact they would die when Tobias did, regardless of it was their time or not.

"You two really love him don't you?" Piper whispered quietly, not sure what else she could say.

Kazehana chuckled quietly at the question. "You should already know the answer to that Piper. Your mother is the goddess of love isn't she?" She asked rhetorically.

"But...how do you do that? How can you be sure you'll always love him and that he'll love you?"

Yahan sighed quietly. "We weren't always like this. When we first met him, he was more quiet, reclusive. He had his powers then, but he didn't use them like he does not, and he didn't have as much. We didn't really, deeply connect with him because he would always pull away from that kind of contact. We didn't know why for a while, but we learned eventually why eventually," she looked at Piper. "From what I understand, all demigods go through a rough childhood, right?"

Piper bitterly nodded. She remembered her childhood, growing up with a famous movie star father who was rarely around, being kicked out of schools for various reasons, being treated as a problem that needed solving. Before she knew her demigod heritage, she had sometimes convinced salespeople to give her things for free. She never kept the stuff, but the police would track her down anyways and then she'd been in trouble with her dad. It seemed to be the only way to get and keep his attention.

"I'm not giving you all the details since this is Tobias's life I'm sharing, but I want you to picture this. Listening?" Yahan questioned, and Piper nodded. "Picture being born with no parents, no siblings, no aunts, uncles, distant relatives, no family at all. Then, think about being trained to be nothing but a weapon, of mass destruction or silent and deadly assassinations. No emotions, identity, possessions, nothing that makes a person human until you turn thirteen. Then, imagine being taken out of time for god knows how long, only to be found by somebody who can completely relate to you, and only that person. How do you connect with someone else on a truly meaningful level without them knowing the deepest, darkest secrets that you have? Simple...you don't."

Piper felt like all the blood had left her body as Yahan had talked on and on. She couldn't even wrap her head around what she had described. An existence like that would be the absolute, worst torture in the Fields of Punishment, except this would be real and living. Suddenly, all the problems that she had to deal with for being a demigod didn't seem that bad.

"Yeah. It's not pretty," Yahan said without waiting for an answer, looking back out to sea. "Kazehana and I didn't get a glimpse of what made up Tobias's dark side until Kazehana was almost killed right in front of him. That time it was talking about when we had tea with your mom, how he almost destroyed a city bridge? I wasn't exaggerating. If he hadn't snapped out of it, he would've destroyed it, the person who nearly killed Kazehana, and the city we were in would've been reduced to a smoldering crater in the earth."

Piper swallowed, her throat suddenly feeling as dry as sand. If he had that kind of power at his fingertips, then it was a good thing he was a friend or they'd be dead already.

"H-how did you stay with him after you saw that?"

"Because he needed help," Piper looked at Kazehana who turned her head to look back. "Tobias's psyche turned extremely fragile after that incident. That side of him was something he'd suppressed for years with help from his adoptive mother River and his friends. For it to suddenly erupt out of him when he'd done such a good job of keeping it back made him worried that he wouldn't be able to stay like he was. He lost a week worth of sleep torturing himself like that." She shrugged. "We had to show him he was wrong. We did and after that we became as close as we could be at the time. He got better after that, and..." She paused for a second. "I can't say exactly what happened after that, but he's made a lot of progress since that day. He's the best we could've ever hoped for in an Ashikabi."

"In a what?" Piper noticed the strange word and by the shock on Kazehana and Yahan's face, that was not what she had meant to say. Or was supposed to say.

"Nothing, it's...it's nothing." Kazehana tried to cover up her blunder, but Piper was not going to simply dismiss that as an accident. "The point is that Tobias is worth much more to both of us than anything else in the world. If he dies, then...well nothing is really worth living for without him."

Well, aside from the more disturbing things that she had learned about her newer friends and their bond, Piper did feel a bit better somehow. Maybe knowing that Kazehana and Yahan had overcome such large problems to stay with the guy they loved regardless of how hard it had undoubtedly been made her think she could too. Even if Jason was unsure about their relationship, she was going to make it work.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by an odd sound, like a drain that was being unclogged with a plunger. It was immediately followed by a gasp from Kazehana and Yahan. She looked up to see a _hole_ in the middle of the water a few yards from the ship, just large enough for her to fit in. She barely had time to think: _What in Hades?_ Before there was a small blast of air and water as something shot from the hole too fast to follow. The next thing she knew, there was the sound of two feet hitting the deck behind them.

"Hey guys. I'm back." Piper felt like her heart had leaped into her throat when she heard that voice. Yahan and Kazehana however, had a more extreme reaction to it.

"Tobias!" Yahan instantly spun and tackled her boyfriend in a hug, followed by a kiss. He didn't object, instead wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in closer as he deepened the kiss. After few seconds of this, she punched him in the stomach.

"Oof," he grunted as their lips separated. "What was that for?"

"For making us wait, you jerk." Yahan tried to say with a scowl, but she couldn't seem to keep the smile off her face. Before he could get a response in, Kazehana pulled back Yahan and claimed Tobias's lips for herself. Piper couldn't help the slight blush that crossed her face as she watched them.

Kazehana pulled back and glared at Tobias. "If you ever do that again, I'll...I don't know what I'll do, but you won't like it."

"I got it," Tobias chuckled before putting his forehead against hers. "I missed you too." He whispered quietly. Piper found the scene rather touchy until she remembered that Tobias was the only one there.

"Wait, where are the others?"

"Wait for it..." Tobias pointed at the water just as three pink orbs broke through the surface and ejected Leo, Frank, and Hazel. Before they could hit the water, they stopped, floated over and were set down on the deck gently. "You're welcome." He said, dropping his hand.

Piper was so happy to see everyone was alright she hugged Leo and kissed his cheek, much to his surprise.

"Miss me?" He laughed jokingly.

Piper was suddenly furious. "Where _were_ you? How are you guys alive?"

"It's a long story," Tobias explained before flicking his fingers again as another pink bubble broke the surface, spitting out a picnic basket that floated towards them. "Want a brownie?"

Once everyone was notified of the return of their friends, they all gathered on the quarterdeck for a celebratory breakfast, except for Coach Hedge. He grumbled that the atmosphere was getting too cuddly for his tastes and went to hammer out some dents in the hull. While Leo fussed over his helm controls, Tobias, Frank, and Hazel told their story of the fish-centaurs and their training camp.

"Incredible," Jason said. "These are _really_ good brownies."

"That's your only comment?" Piper demanded.

He looked surprised. "What? I heard the story. Fish-centaurs. Merpeople. Letter of intro to the Tiber River god. Got it. But these brownies-"

"I know," Frank said, his mouth full. "Try them with Esther's peach preserves." He recommended, talking about a jar of the substance that he had gotten back in Atlanta.

"That," Hazel said. "Is _incredibly_ disgusting."

"Pass me the jar, man." Jason said.

Hazel and Piper shared looks of total exasperation. _Boys._

Percy, for his part, wanted to hear every detail about the aquatic camp. He kept coming back to one point: "They didn't want to meet me?"

"Percy, if you ask that again, then so help me I will throw you overboard with an anchor on your back," Tobias threatened without any real heat in his voice. "They didn't want to meet you because of undersea politics, and they value their independence. It was nothing against you personally. But the good thing is they'll be taking care of that aquarium in Atlanta and protect the _Argo II_ as we cross the Atlantic."

Percy nodded absently. "But they didn't..."

"No! Now stop asking!"

Annabeth swatted his arm. "He's right Seaweed Brain. We got more important things to worry about."

"She's right," Hazel said. "After today, Nico has less than two days. The fish-centaurs said we _have_ to rescue him. He's essential to the quest somehow."

She looked around defensively, as if waiting for someone to argue. No one did. Piper tried to imagine what Nico di Angelo was feeling, stuck in a jar with only two pomegranate seeds left to sustain him, and no idea if hell was coming. It made Piper anxious to reach Rome, even if she had a horrible feeling that she was sailing towards her own sort of prison. A dark room filled with water.

"Nico must have information about the Doors of Death," Tobias said. "We'll save him Hazel." She looked a bit better when that was said. "We can make it in time, right Leo?"

"What?" Leo tore his eyes away from the controls. "Oh, yeah. We should reach the Mediterranean tomorrow morning. Then spending the rest of the day sailing to Rome, or _flying_, if I can fix the stabilizer by then..."

"That'll only give us twenty-four hours to find Nico, at most." Kazehana pointed out. Piper noticed she was keeping her right hand out of sight, but she could see the occasionally drop of blood drop to the deck every few minutes. Piper wondered why she didn't get that looked at.

Percy crossed his legs. "And that's only part of the problem. There's the Mark of Athena, too."

Annabeth didn't seem happy with the change of topic. She rested her hand on her backpack, which, since they'd left Charleston, she always seemed to have with her. She opened the bag and brought out a thin bronze disk the diameter of a donut.

"This is the map that I found at Fort Sumter. It's..." She stopped abruptly, staring the smooth bronze surface. "It's blank!"

"It wasn't like this earlier?" Percy asked, taking it and examining both sides.

"No! I was looking at it in my cabin and..." Annabeth muttered under her breath. "It must be like the Mark of Athena. I can only see it when I'm alone. It won't show itself to other demigods."

Frank scooted back like the disk may explode. He had a orange juice mustache and a brownie crumb beard that made Piper want to hand him a napkin.

"What did it have on it?" Frank inquired nervously. "And what _is_ the Mark of Athena? I still don't get it."

Annabeth took the disk from Percy. She turned it over in the sunlight, but it remained blank. "The map was hard to read, but it showed a spot on the Tiber River in Rome. I think that's where my quest starts...the path I've got to take to follow the Mark."

"That must be where you'll meet the river god Tiberius," Piper said. "But what _is_ the Mark?"

"The coin," Annabeth murmured.

Percy frowned. "What coin?"

Annabeth dug into her pocket and dug out a silver drachma. Tobias frowned when he saw that and held out his hand.

"May I?" Annabeth shrugged and passed the coin to him. Tobias turned it over in his hand, examining it while Yahan and Kazehana looked over his shoulders. "I recognize this. This is a Athenian coin. But this looks brand new."

"It is. I've been carrying this ever since I saw my mom at Grand Central Station."

Tobias passed it around. While each person looked at it, Piper had a ridiculous memory of show-and-tell in elementary school.

"An owl," Yahan noted. "That's Athena sacred animal if I remember right. And an olive branch. But what's this inscription, AOE?"

"It's alpha, theta, epsilon," Annabeth explained. "In Greek it stands for _Of The Athenians..._or you can read it as _the children of Athena._ It's sort of the Athenian motto."

"Like SPQR for the Romans," Piper guessed.

Annabeth nodded. "Anyways, the Mark of Athena is an owl, just like that one. It appears in fiery red. I've seen it in my dreams, then twice at Fort Sumter."

She described what had happened at the fort, the voice of Gaea, the spiders in the garrison, the Mark burning them away. Piper could tell it wasn't easy for her to talk about.

Percy took her hand. "I should've been there for you."

"But that's the point," Annabeth said. "_No one_ can be there for me. When I get to Rome, I'll have to strike out on my own. If I don't, the Mark won't appear and I have to follow it to its...source."

Frank took the coin from Yahan and stared at the owl. _"The giants bane stands gold and pale, Won with pain from a woven jail_." He looked at Annabeth. "What is it... This thing at the source."

Before Annabeth could answer, Jason beat her to it.

"A statue," he said. "A statue of Athena. At least...that's my guess."

Piper frowned. "You said you didn't know." She said, remembering a conversation she had had with him after she'd expelled the possessing spirits.

"I _don't_. But the more I think about it...there's only one artifact that could fit the legend." The legend he had told her that night was an old one. It said that to break the spirits of the Greeks, the Romans stole an important artifact of Athena's from them and hid it away. The children of Athena never forgave them for it and made sure the rivalry between the Greeks and Romans stayed alive. They also swore if they ever found the artifact, they would attack and destroy the legacy of Rome. Jason looked at Annabeth. "I'm sorry. I should've told you everything I've heard soon. But honestly, I was scared. If this legend is true-"

"I know," Annabeth said. "I figured it out Jason. I don't blame you. But if we manage to save the statue, Greeks and Romans together... Don't you see? It can heal the rift."

"Excuse me," Yahan raised her hand. "_What _statue?"

"The Athena Parthenos." Tobias said, making everyone look at him. He had his arms crossed and was staring at the deck with his eyebrows knit together. He looked up. "It's the most famous Greek statue ever. It was forty feet tall, covered in ivory and gold, and it once stood in the middle of the Parthenon in Athens."

The ship went silent, except for the waves lapping against the hull.

"Ok, I'll bite," Leo said at last. "What happened to it?"

"It disappeared." Annabeth said, taking her coin from Frank and slipping it into her pocket.

Leo frowned. "Ok, I've seen some unexplainable things, but how does a forty foot tall statue in the middle of the Parthenon just _disappear_?"

"That, Leo, is an extremely good question. It's also one of the biggest mysteries in history." Tobias said. "Some people think the statue was melted down for its gold, or destroyed by invaders. Athens was sacked a number of times, and some think the statue was carried off by..."

"Romans." Jason finished. "At least, that's one theory, and it fits the legend I heard at Camp Jupiter. To break the Greeks spirit, the Romans carted the Athena Parthenos when they took over the city of Athens. They hid it in an underground shrine in Rome, swearing it would never see the light of day again. They literally _stole_ Athena so she couldn't be a symbol of Greek military power. She became Minerva, a much tamer goddess."

"And the children of Athena have been searching for it ever since," Annabeth said. "Most don't know about the legend, but in each generation, a few are chosen by the goddess and given a coin like mine. They follow the Mark of Athena, a kind of magical trail that links them to the statue, hoping to find the Athena Parthenos and get the statue back."

Piper watched the two of them- Annabeth and Jason- with quite amazement. The spoke like a team, without any hostility or blame. The two of them had never really trusted each other, and Piper was close enough to them both to know that. But now, if they could discuss such a huge problem so calmly, especially the ultimate source of Greek/Roman hatred, then maybe there was hope for the two camps after all.

Percy seemed to be having similar thoughts, judging by his surprised expression. "So if we- I mean _you_- find the statue...what would we do with it? Could we even _move _it?"

"Sure," Tobias said. "Once it's found, then the part of the Mark that says you have to be alone will break right? I can go with Annabeth after that and get it out of there."

"It's a forty foot tall statue. Underground." Leo reminded him.

Tobias shrugged. "I once tore a building in half and threw it, I could handle a forty foot statue. As for the underground bit... I might have something that can help with that if it's needed." Piper noticed him glance down at his gauntlet, a thoughtful look on his face. "But we _need _that statute. If we save it, it can unite the camps, heal any hatred Annabeth's mother for this that's tearing her two aspects apart. And the prophecy... It makes it sound like the statue has some power that can help us against the giants."

Annabeth nodded. Piper was in awe, since it was just starting to sink in on the huge amount of responsibility that had been set on her shoulders. And Annabeth was meant to do it alone.

"This could change everything," Piper agreed. "We could end thousands of years of hostility, and maybe get the key to defeating Gaea. But if we can't help Annabeth..."

She didn't finish, but the question seemed to hang in the air: _Was saving the statute even possible?_

Annabeth squared her shoulders. Piper knew she must be terrified inside, but she was doing a good job of hiding it.

"I have to succeed," Annabeth said simply. "The risk is worth it."

Hazel twirled her hair pensively. "I don't like the idea of you risking your life alone, but you're right. We saw what recovering the golden eagle standard did for the Roman legion. Of this statue is the most powerful symbol of Athena ever created-"

"It could kick some serious booty," Leo offered.

"Thank you, Leo, for that wonderfully worded explanation." Tobias rolled his eyes.

"Except..." Percy took Annabeth's hand again. "No child of Athena has _ever _found it. Annabeth, what's _down_ there? What's guarding it? If it's got to do with spiders-?"

"We shouldn't think about it too much," Tobias interrupted. "We don't have any good ideas on what's down there and any attempts to guess will just freak us all out. We should deal with it when we get to Rome, but until then we need to get there as fast as we can."

Annabeth sent a slight nod of gratitude towards Tobias at the interruption.

"You're...you're right." Percy agreed. "Besides, I learned a long time ago: _Never _bet against Annabeth."

"Does that mean I should bet with her?" Yahan asked lightly and with a smile. "Because I could use some extra cash."

There were small laughs all around at the joke, easing up the atmosphere a bit and helping them relax. Kazehana apparently jolted her hand though, because her laugh ended with a slightly pained grunt.

Tobias instantly noticed and looked at her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just some soreness. I sat in place too long last night." Kazehana tried to wave away his concern.

Tobias's eyes drifted down and spotted what was by now a shallow pool of blood the diameter of a good sized frisbee. His eyes narrowed and he looked back at his girlfriends face. "Kazehana..."

Kazehana sighed before showing him her right hand, which still had a few splinters in it and small lines of blood tracing their way down it to her fingertips.

"Why didn't you show me this earlier?" Tobias asked, taking it in his own hands and pulling out one of the larger splinters slowly.

"I didn't want to worry you soon so after you got back." She winced as it left her skin.

"It's my job to worry about you," Tobias told her firmly. "Let's get these out before one of these cuts gets infected." With that, Tobias, Yahan, and Kazehana left for the med bay, small droplets of blood marking their path.

"Just when I think I've figured him out, he surprises me." Hazel commented in the still air.

"I don't any of us have figured him out. The guy is like the ocean. Just when you think you've found the bottom of it, there's an even deeper part of it somewhere else." Percy said.

"Yeah, well, I don't think we've gotten even close to the bottom. Me and Frank learned some weird things about him when we were down at the training camp." Leo said, looking up from the controls.

"Like what?"

"Well, for starters, he's apparently from England, he was born with his powers, he doesn't know who his biological dad is and doesn't care that he doesn't. His moms name is River Song who he calls River because they keep it casual. Oh, and his stepfather is apparently a doctor who goes around helping people because he likes to."

"He's a traveler?" Annabeth asked.

"Guess so."

Piper hesitated for a second before speaking up. "I learned a bit more about them to, but what I learned was...darker."

"Oh goody, because we didn't have _enough_ darkness in our life's already," Leo muttered as he turned back to the controls.

"Do we want to know?" Jason asked.

"Um, maybe. I was talking with Yahan and Kazehana earlier and... Well I didn't get the full details, but they told me what Tobias's life was like before they met him."

"How bad?" Annabeth asked.

"Really bad. Worse than anything any of us would've had to deal with growing up."

She summarized what she had found out and the information even made Leo stop working on the control to look at her, pale faced.

"Please tell me you've developed a terrible sense of humor and that you're joking."

"I really wish I was, but that's what they told me."

Jason shivered. "Tobias was born to be a weapon of mass destruction?"

"Or the perfect assassin. Either/or, but apparently he was...I don't know, frozen or something for years before he was found by someone that let him out. Then somewhere along the way he met Kazehana and Yahan, but it sounds like whatever was done to him was starting to unravel or something."

"What does that mean?" Percy leaned forwards.

Piper took a breath. "I still don't have all the details, but there was one instance where Tobias snapped apparently. He almost killed someone and destroyed a city bridge."

Hazel and Annabeth both winced slightly.

"Wow. What kinda event could make somebody like him snap?" Leo asked. "The guys always in control."

"How about seeing Kazehana nearly dying in front of him. Would that be enough?"

That made Leo close his mouth while all the boys looked shocked. Piper couldn't blame them. It was one thing to snap for a good reason, but to snap because someone you loved was killed right in front of you was another matter altogether.

Piper sighed, feeling sorry for Tobias. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to see the person he cared about being killed right in front of him. Jason had been injured in front of her, but to know he was dead... Well, she would've snapped like he apparently had. Only she wasn't sure she could bring herself to spare the person who had killed Jason.

"The aftermath wasn't pretty from what I was told, but he managed to get back control before killing the person responsible. Then he went into some form of self punishment or something, for doing what he was "born" to do." She made quotation marks around the word. She wondered if she should mention what she had learned about the bond between Tobias and his girlfriends, but decided against it. She had dumped enough on them for the day.

Judging by the half eaten plates of breakfast, they were having trouble swallowing what they had just heard. Thankfully, Leo always knew how to get them out of a mood like this, and he didn't disappoint this time. He pushed a button and a loud blast of steam exploded from Festus's mouth, making everyone jump.

"Well!" He said. "Good talk, but there's still a ton of things to fix on this ship before we get to the Mediterranean. Please report to Supreme Commander Leo for your superfun list of chores!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_**Tobias**_

"Done." Tobias grunted as he lifted the last crate into place. He brushed his hands off. "Now we have a place to sleep again." He muttered to himself.

The list of chores Leo had given him was short, but they took a long time because of what they were. He had needed help fixing the hull, replacing the wood on deck to repair a hole that was in the deck (when that one was listed, Kazehana had looked distinctly embarrassed), and repairing any damage that had been done to the ship when the Greek fire had hit the ship. After that, he had gone around helping everyone else with their own chores before, finally, coming to the storage room where he and his girlfriends had been sleeping after eating dinner.

He'd also noticed the others had been treating him differently. They tried to hid it, but he was an good reader of body language, and everyone's had screamed nervousness when they had been with him. He wasn't one hundred percent what had changed, but he didn't put much thought into it. He couldn't even guess why they were acting like this, why waste time trying to figure it out at the moment.

With a sigh, he went to the center of the room, spread his arms, and fell back on a air mattress that formed just before he hit the ground.

"What a day." He muttered, rubbing his eyes. He felt exhaustion deep in his bones and needed some sleep, but his body was refusing to let him for some reason.

The door opened to the room, but he didn't bother to open his eyes. "Hey girls."

"Hey." Yahan's voice responded back as the door closed.

"You ok?" Kazehana asked.

"Define 'ok.'"

He heard both of them approach and then felt them lie down on either side, snuggling in close and resting their heads on his chest. He took a breath in and relaxed as he felt the warmth from their bodies sneak into his.

They both had something to say. Their links both told him that, but they seemed hesitant to speak.

"What's wrong?" He asked, opening his eyes to look at them both. However, due to the way they were laying down, he could only see the tops of their heads.

"Nothing." They said at the exact same time.

Tobias sighed. They both were hiding something, but they wouldn't share because they didn't want to burden him with their problems. You'd think with their relationship that they'd trust each other with everything, due to their mutual trust and bonds. Not true. There were some secrets that they kept from each other, either out of necessity or desire. Right now, based on their emotions, they were doing it out of desire.

"Come on, spill. I don't like it when you two get like this." He preferred them when they were happy and carefree, not quiet and introspective while feeling depressed. They didn't respond, but he waited patiently. They would talk when they were ready.

"You almost died yesterday." Yahan's whisper was almost missed, but he barely caught it.

"A lot of people almost die every day Yahan."

"But they're not you!" Her fingers curled up and bunched up his shirt. "None of them can ever be you!"

Tobias snorted softly. "Someday it will be me. You remember that poem River wrote one day? About running?"

"Yeah," Kazehana said quietly.

"'Everybody knows that everybody dies.' That's just how the world works. Someday that'll happen to us. From old age, injury, accident, something. The only thing we can do before then is hold on to what matters and never let it go." He wrapped his arms around both of them and pulled them closer. "And that's what we do everyday."

Both of them sighed and relaxed slightly while he felt content flow through them.

"Besides, if I did die, River would just bring me back to kill me again for getting done in by a overgrown seafood platter."

Both girls snorted and giggled at the joke. With the mood a bit lighter, Tobias moved on to other matters.

"So what happened up here while we were gone?" He sat up, forcing both of them to do the same so they could talk properly.

"Well," Yahan rubbed the back of her neck. That was one of her nervous ticks. "We put out the fires from the Greek fire and repaired the ship the best we could, then me and Kazehana tried to find you but something was blocking us."

Tobias nodded. "That was the fish-centaurs doing. They blocked me too, which was really irritating now that I think about it. What else?"

"Well... Piper had some questions about our relationship, how we were so certain about staying with each other and stuff like that, and..." Yahan stopped talking and looked guilty.

"And..." He prompted.

"And we told her a bit about our bonds, plus what you were like before we met you." Kazehana finished.

Tobias sighed. "Well, that would explain why they were nervous at dinner."

"Sorry." Yahan muttered.

"Don't be. I'll be the first to admit I wasn't the poster boy for perfect, but I got better. Besides, they would've learned about this sooner or later. It's better if it was sooner, so don't go blaming yourselves."

So, to recap the growing list of concerns. They had one more day before they _had _to reach Rome, find Nico in twenty four hours, stop a pair of giant twins from destroying Rome, Annabeth had to follow the Mark of Athena to find the most important statue in Greek history so they could end the Greek/Roman feud, and they still had no clue what lay between here and there. And everyone was now on edge around him from learning about his darker aspects.

"Sounds like a typical day for us." He muttered under his breath.

"You say something?" Yahan asked.

"Nothing important. Just thinking that we're in a completely different universe then home, yet it seems like we're still saving worlds and stopping sociopaths who want to destroy something."

"Yeah," Kazehana nodded. "Except things are more interesting here."

"Very true." Tobias yawned, covering his mouth as he did so. "We really need to get some sleep."

"Yeah, we could do that. Or," Yahan smirked seductively, Kazehana mirroring the expression. "We can do _something_ _else_." She purred the last two words as she leaned forwards to press her lips to his.

Tobias kissed back, but this kiss was different from others. Instead of pure love and dedication, this one had lust and desire pouring into it that spoke of her intentions. And he wasn't entirely opposed to them at the moment

With a small growl in the back of his throat, he pulled Yahan closer until her body was flushed with his, hands on her upper and lower back while her arms were around his neck. He nibbled on her lower lip gently, drawing a small moan from her that sparked his own lust that grew stronger the longer they kissed. Tobias felt Yahan's tongue lightly trace his teeth, asking for entrance. He granted it and their tongues danced back and forth, to and fro for a few seconds before he forced his way into her own mouth, exploring every nook and cranny as he drew another, deeper moan from her.

Sadly, they still needed to breath so after a few seconds, they stopp, both panting slightly. Yahan's cheeks were slightly flushed, making her skin darker and her eyes were shining with want. A quick glance at Kazehana showed she was in the same state, except her blush was more noticeably thanks to her lighter skin.

"You two really want to do this?" He asked.

His answer was Kazehana kissing him deeply, but unlike Yahan's, she was slightly rougher and instantly shoved her own tongue down his throat. She whined when he pushed her away, eyes wide and puppy dog sad. Both of them were pouring arousal through the bonds, mixing with his own to enhance it.

Well, it had been awhile. Plus, he had worried them sick when he had almost been killed by Shrimpzilla, so this was the least he could do.

"Ok then." He moved off Yahan while opening the compartment on his gauntlet. "Then let's make sure we don't disturb the others."

Tobias reached in and dug around for a few seconds, hand disappearing up to the wrist into the compartment until he found what he was searching for. He pulled out four black disc, each the size of a DVD. One at a time, he threw them at the walls. They each stuck and beeped once, a red light blinking in the center of them. These were soundproofing discs designed by River, which instantly made a room soundproof when they were applied to four walls. Now no sound could get in or out of this room.

"Now," he looked at Yahan and Kazehana with a hungry smile and white eyes that made them both shiver pleasantly. "Shall we?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**A/N: Didn't see that coming did you? So this chapter was pretty generic, just moving the story along, some more background on Tobias, his past, their bonds, and the others reactions to the information. Also, them doing what they are isn't surprising if you think about it's they've been together for at least seven months, they're bonded for life, and they love each other more than life itself. But I've talked enough, so I'll be signing off for now. **

**P.S. Anybody who's upset that I didn't keep writing...you pervs.**


	13. Chapter 13

_**Tobias**_

The first thing Tobias noticed waking up was the heat surrounding him, trying to lull him back to sleep because of how comfortable it was. Not too much so he was sweating, but not too little that he was cold. It was the perfect temperature to sleep in.

The second thing he noticed was that there were two bodies pressed close to his, most likely the source of the wonderful warmth around him. And the third thing he noticed was that there was a mixture of happiness, amusement, and contentment flowing into him through his bonds.

He opened his eyes, letting them adjust to the dim lighting in the room, before casting them down at his chest. Resting there were his girlfriends, both close to him and apparently using him as a teddy bear again, not that he ever complained about that. He had his arms around them both, holding them closer. Unlike most mornings however, there were two things that were different.

Firstly, there was musky smell in the air that made his nose tingle ever so slightly, and it was mixed with a sweeter scent that he recognized. Secondly, unless he was mistaken, he and his girlfriends were all naked under the blanket.

"Morning Tobias." His train of thought was interrupted when Yahan's amused voice spoke up. The person in question moved her head so her chin was resting on his chest, looking into his eyes with her own light purple ones. There were a few stray strands of hair hanging besides her right eye, but that just made her look more beautiful in his opinion. She then leaned up and planted a soft good morning kiss on his lips, which he eagerly returned.

"Morning." Tobias replied with a smile when it ended. "How long have you two been awake?" He asked. He said two because he could tell Kazehana was awake from her breathing and emotions.

"A few minutes," Kazehana answered for them both. "We didn't want to wake you though."

"Why?" He asked, putting his head back down. He had no desire to move at the moment, since he was far too comfortable to even consider that.

"Well, we figured after the _activities _of last night, you could use some rest." He could almost hear the smug smirk on Yahan's face as she laid her head back down while running a finger down his chest slowly.

"Oh really," Tobias smirked while running two fingers up Yahan's spine, feeling her shiver as he did. "I seem to recall you two tired out before I did."

"Only cause you cheat and use Air Hand." Yahan smacked her hand lightly against his chest, sounding embarrassed.

"You like it when I do." Tobias chuckled as he felt the embarrassment increase, but didn't push Yahan. It was true anyways.

"True," Kazehana voiced his thoughts out loud. "Besides, it always makes things _so_ much more interesting." She purred, looking at him with hooded and seductive eyes that would've driven anyone else insane with desire. But Tobias wasn't that affected, having heard that tone and seen that look enough times the effect had worn off. It still made his heart beat a bit faster though.

They stayed the way there were for a few minutes before Kazehana sighed sadly.

"We have to get up don't we?"

"Unfortunately, yes, we do." Tobias normally welcomed a day, but right now he was wishing he could tell it to come back later so he could stay in his own personal Elysium with the ones he loved.

With a grumble of dissatisfaction, Yahan pushed back the blanket and sat up, stretching her arms above her head. Tobias let his eyes roam over her form. Athletic frame that was covered with muscle, but not enough to take away from her feminine charms. A perfect figure that had curves in all the right places, but enough to hover somewhere between natural beauty and divine perfection, with dark colored skin that never failed to catch his attention and made her look better than any Olympian goddess could ever hope to be. Ok, maybe he was being a bit biased, but it was his girlfriend he was looking at. He could be however biased he wanted.

Yahan noticed him looking and smirked as she got to her feet. "Like what you see?" She teased, walking around to pick up her clothes with more of a sway in her hips then normal.

"Always." He muttered quietly, watching her hips as she walked.

"If it wasn't for the fact that I know you love us both, I might be jealous." Kazehana's voice whispered into his right ear. Tobias turned to look at her, seeing a fake pout on her face before it changed into a smile. He smiled back before giving her another kiss before getting up himself. He absently snagged his boxers and put them on, then grabbed his black jeans and started getting those on too.

"It's a good thing you put up that sound barrier though. Otherwise the others might've heard us." Kazehana said behind his back.

"Might've?" Tobias snorted as he finished putting on his jeans. He could still hear the earth shattering screams he had gotten out of them both during their "activities". He felt a slight tingle race up his legs to the bottom of his feet as he buttoned his jeans, leaving him energized for the day.

"Ok, they would've heard." Kazehana admitted. Tobias looked over his shoulder to take in Kazehana. She didn't have as much muscle as Yahan, but her power was in the wind instead of her own physical strength, so that was expected. Despite that, there was little to no fat on her body. She was had curves that were more developed but suited her perfectly, combined with her features to make an exotic beauty. Long legs, firm and large breasts, a seductive aura that nobody could fail to notice... Aphrodite would probably kill him if he ever said this out loud, but Kazehana could easily replace the love goddess in his opinion.

Tobias was snapped out of his thoughts when the ship shuddered suddenly, sending vibrations up their feet and resonating in their bones.

"What was that?" Yahan finished putting on her panties and was paused in the act of putting on a shirt when the vibration came again. Tobias closed his eyes and sensed the air around them, noticing what it was instantly.

"Cruise ship. I think they're saying hello, since the people in board are waving and maybe taking pictures." Tobias opened his eyes, smirking in amusement.

"Really? They're taking pictures of a Greek warship?" Kazehana asked.

"The Mist is a powerful thing. They must think its a tourist attraction or something."

Before he could get an answer, there was a quick _thump-thump-thump-thump _at the door as someone asked. A few minutes later, the sound repeated.

"One minute!" Tobias called as he slipped his black shirt shirt on, Yahan slipped on her own shirt and Kazehana putting on her panties. Whoever was at the door knocked again. "I said one minute!" They knocked again. "What part of one minute is-!" Tobias stopped shouting when he looked at the door and saw the black disc stuck to it, the red light in it flashing. The sound barrier was still up, so this room was still sound proof. Meaning they couldn't hear him, which logically meant the next step to getting someone's attention when knocking wouldn't do it was...

The doorknob twisted and the door opened to show Frank, who looked like he had fallen out of bed with a bad case of bed hair before hurriedly getting dressed in a Vancouver Winter Olympics shirt that was inside out.

"Hey guys, you really need..." He stopped talking as he saw that only Tobias was fully dressed. Yahan was half dressed with a shirt only, but Kazehana was almost completely naked with just panties on. It took a second for the scene to fully sink in but when it did, Frank's face nearly burst into flames and his eyes widened before the door slammed shut, shaking in its frame. There was a few seconds of silence as the occupants of the room looked at each other.

Yahan started shaking slightly, her shoulders shaking before she burst out laughing,Tobias and Kazehana following soon after.

"Hahahaha, oh, did you see his face? He looked so terrified!" Yahan laughed, hunched over and hugging her stomach as her whole body shook.

"I'd be angry at him for not waiting for us to answer, but that expression on his face made it worth it!" Kazehana chuckled, restraining her humor better than Yahan but she was just as amused.

Tobias was trying to keep his laughs in, but just when he was about to calm down, he saw Frank's absolutely terrified expression that he had had a split second before slamming the door. Then he started laughing again, shoulders shaking and ribs hurting from the effort of keeping his amusement in.

"Oh, that was good." Yahan wiped the corner of her eye. "The poor guy is going to be traumatized though."

"Oh, he'll get over it. Besides, think of how much fun we can have teasing him about this." Tobias pointed out. It would also help break the ice between the crew and him if they saw he didn't get upset over things like this. His comment made both his girlfriends smirk evilly. "But we should get on deck before the others come looking and turn into human tomatoes. Hazel's head might actually burst into flames."

They quickly finished getting dressed, Tobias taking the soundproofing discs off the walls, and headed up on deck.

"Morning everyone! What's the big rush this morning?" Tobias asked, taking in the scene. Everyone was hastily dressed except for Coach Hedge, whom he guessed had pulled the night watch. Percy was wearing pajama pants and a bronze chestplate, which ranked in the top one hundred most interesting outfits he'd ever seen. Hazel's hair was all blown to one side like she'd walked through a cyclone, and Leo had accidentally set himself on fire. His arms were smoking and his T-shirt was in charred tatters.

A large cruise ship about a hundred yards to port was gliding past them, tourists waving at them from sixteen rows of balconies or taking pictures. The real view, however, was right in front of them.

Hazel rubbed her eyes and looked after the glittering green water. "Where are- oh...wow"

Without the cruise ship in the way, Tobias could take in the view. There was mountain jutting from the sea half a mile north, a massive fist of blinding white rock thrust into the sky. On one side, the limestone cliffs were almost completely sheer, dropping into the sea over a thousand feet below, as near as he could tell. On the other side, the mountain sloped in tiers, covered in green forest. The whole thing reminded him of a massive sphinx that had been worn down over the millennia, with a massive white head and chest, and a green cloak on it's back.

"The Rock of Gibraltar," Annabeth said in awe. "At the tip of Spain."

"And that's Africa." Tobias pointed south, at a distance stretch of red and ochre hills. "We're at the mouth of the Mediterranean."

Tobias shivered in the warm morning air. It felt different from the air in the States. Stronger, older, more primal. The ancient lands had more power since it was the birthplace of everything divine, so it made sense. He also got the distinct feeling that they weren't welcome, that there was a massive wall blocking them despite the fact that there was open water in front of them. Once they entered the Mare Nostrum, their quest would get ten times more dangerous.

"So what now?" Yahan asked. "We just sail right in?"

"Why not?" Leo asked. "It's a big shipping channel. Boats go in and out all the time."

"Not triremes full of demigods," Tobias muttered under his breath. He noticed Frank shoot a glance at him before quickly looking away, face reddening. With a slight smirk, Tobias said, "You ok Frank? You look a bit red."

"I'm fine." Frank mumbled, the color deepening on his face.

"You sure? You got really red when you came to get us too." Yahan asked innocently, but her eyes had a mischievous spark.

Frank's face went red giant while drawing the attention of the others.

"What happened when he went to get you?" Leo asked with a raised eyebrow.

"How about we tell you once we get into the Mediterranean," Tobias saved Frank for the time being. It'd be more appropriate to poke fun at everyone once they were on their way. He saw Annabeth wasn't paying attention to them, but was gazing at the Rock of Gibraltar with a brooding expression. "Something wrong Annabeth?"

"Maybe. Back on the old days, they called this area the Pillars of Hercules. The Rock is supposed to one Pillar and the other was one of the African mountains, but no one is sure which one."

"Hercules, huh?" Percy frowned. "That guy was like the Starbucks of Ancient Greece. Everywhere you turn, there he is."

A thunderous _boom_ shook the _Argo II_, but the skies were clear and there were no other ships in sight.

Piper swallowed. "So...these Pillars of Hercules. Are they dangerous?"

Annabeth stayed focused on the white cliffs, as if waiting for the Mark of Athena to blaze to life. "For Greeks, the Pillars marked the end of the known world. The Romans said the Pillars were inscribed with a Latin warning-"

"_Non plus ultra."_ Percy said.

Annabeth looked stunned. "Yeah. _Nothing Further Beyond._ How did you know?

"Because I'm looking at it." Percy pointed.

Directly ahead of them, in the middle of the straits, an island shimmered into existence, which unsettled Tobias. He hadn't sensed any island there until it showed itself. So that meant things could hide from his senses. He'd have to keep that in mind for later. As for the island itself, it was a small hilly mass of land, covered in forests and ringed with white beaches. Not that impressive compared to Gibraltar, but in front of the island jutting from the waves a hundred yards from the shores, were two Grecian columns as tall as the _Argo's _masts_._ Between the columns, huge silver words glittered under the water- either an illusion or maybe inlaid in the sand: _NON PLUS ULTRA._

"Guys, do I turn around?" Leo asked nervously. "Or..."

No one answered, probably because they had, like him, noticed the figure standing on the beach. As the ship approached the columns, he saw a dark-haired man in purple robes, his arms crossed, staring intently at their ship as if he was expecting them. Tobias couldn't see any details from this distance, but his posture suggested he wasn't happy. He was also giving off an aura of power like Bacchus had in Kansas, but not as powerful.

Kazehana slipped her hand into his. "Is that-?"

"Hercules," Tobias confirmed. "The most powerful demigod of all time." The _Argo II _was only a few hundred yards from the columns now.

"Need an answer," Leo said urgently. "I can turn, or we can take off. The stabilizers are working again, but I need to know quick-"

"We have to keep going," Annabeth said. "I think he's guarding these straits. If that's really Hercules, sailing or flying wouldn't do any good. He'll want to talk to us."

"Won't Hercules be on our side?" Piper asked hopefully. "I mean...he's one of us, right?"

Jason grunted. "He was a son of Zeus, but when he died he became a god. You can never be sure with gods."

"Great," Percy said. "Ten of us against Hercules."

"And a satyr!" Hedge added. "We can take him."

"I've got a better idea," Annabeth said. "We send ambassadors ashore. A small group, one or two at the most. Try to talk to him."

"I'll go," Jason volunteered. "He's a son of Zeus. I'm the son of Jupiter. Maybe he'll be friendly to me."

"Or maybe he'll hate you," Percy suggested. "Half brothers don't always get along."

"Well, aren't you Mr. Optimism." Yahan grumbled.

"But it's worth a shot." Annabeth said. "At least Jason and Hercules have something in common. And we need our best diplomat, someone who's good with words."

All eyes looked at Piper. She swallowed and looked a bit pale, but she nodded.

"Fine," she said. "Just let me change my clothes."

Tobias made a snap decision with an impulse that would've made River and his stepfather proud. "I'm coming too."

Everyone stopped and looked at him.

"But we only need two people, three might make him..." Annabeth started objecting.

"Unpredictable? Don't worry, I've got a lot of experience with unpredictable, heck, River is the pinnacle of unpredictable."

"Don't remind us." Kazehana shuddered. "I still remember when she brought home that 'pet.'"

Tobias shuddered himself. "Ugh, don't remind _me_, that thing almost bit my hand off. Besides, I've got something in common with Hercules too."

"Like what?"

Tobias looked directly into Annabeth's eyes. "Pain and suffering," that made her close her mouth and look away with a slightly guilty look on her face while everyone else looked away from him, either out to sea or at the deck. "And even if I didn't have anything in common with him, I'd be going regardless. I don't need Jason to fly me over."

The blonde grimaced when that point was made and sighed.

"Fine."

_**XXXXXXXXXXXX**_

Once Leo had the _Argo II_ between the pillars, Jason summoned the wind to carry him and Piper while Tobias just flew over on his own.

The man in purple was waiting for them.

Now, Tobias had heard stories of Hercules, seen movies and cartoons about him. The last two made him scoff and seriously doubt that Hercules was like that. Stories tended to get twisted around during the retelling and accounts, which he had experience with when listening to different accounts of his stepfather from different people. Some of them called him a good man, the others called him a monster and devil. Really, it depended on who you asked. River just called him a mad man with a box. But movies and cartoons purposely twisted it for entertainment, so he didn't bother with them.

Besides, years of experience said it was good to find out what someone was like first hand.

With that being said, Hercules was an impressive figure. His feet were bare, covered in white sand. His robes made him look like a priest, but he didn't know which rank of priest wore purple. Either cardinals or bishops, but he didn't remember off the top of his head. He guessed the purple robes meant he was in his Roman version rather than his Greek. His beard was fashionably scruffy, like he hadn't shaved for a few days but still looked awesome.

He was well built, but not too stocky. His ebony hair was closed cropped, Roman style. His eyes were a startling blue, like Jason's, but his skin was coppery, like he had spent his entire life outdoors. He also looked around twenty, which was surprising. All in all, he was good looking in a rugged way.

Laying in the sand next to him was a club, which looked like an oversized baseball club- five feet long, made of polished mahogany with a leather handgrip studded in bronze. Idly, Tobias wondered how jealous Coach Hedge would be if he saw that bat.

Jason and Piper landed a few seconds after he did at the edge of the surf and started walking slowly towards Hercules, not making any sudden movements. Tobias didn't bother, he just walked normally towards the god. Hercules didn't look the least but dangerous, but was just watching them like they were some form of animal he had never noticed before.

"Hello," Piper spoke first, going for the default greeting.

"What's up?" Hercules said. His voice was deep and casual, very modern. He sounded like he was greeting them in the high school locker room.

"Um, not much." Piper winced. "Well, actually a lot. I'm Piper, and this is Tobias and Jason. We-"

"Where's your lion skin?" Jason interrupted.

Tobias sighed, but Hercules looked more amused than annoyed.

"It's 90 degrees out here," he said. "Why would I wear my lion skin? Do you wear a fur coat to the beach?"

"No, but I wear black all the time, so there's not a big difference," Tobias jumped into the conversation. "By the way, it's a pleasure to meet you, Hercules."

Hercules looked at him. "Nice to meet you too..."

"Tobias Song. But I'm surprised you're so young."

"Ha! Being immortal helps. But yes, I wasn't so old when I died, not by modern standards. I did a lot during my years as a hero...too much, really." His eyes drifted over them, stopping on Jason. "Son of Zeus, huh?"

"Jupiter." Jason corrected.

"Not much of a difference," Hercules grumbled. "Dad's annoying in either form. Me? I was called Heracles. Then the Romans came along and named me Hercules. I didn't really change that much, but lately thinking about it gives me splitting headaches..."

The left side of his face twitched and Tobias felt the power the god was giving off shift as his robes shimmered, changing to white then back to purple.

"At any rate," Hercules said. "If you're Jupiter's son, you might understand. It's a lot of pressure. Enough is never enough, and eventually it can make a guy snap."

He looked at them all and Tobias saw something familiar in those eyes. A mixture of sadness and darkness that wasn't quite sane, and definitely not safe. Those were the same eyes he had seen every day in the mirror before he had meet Kazehana and Yahan.

"As for you, my dear," Hercules addressed Piper. "Be careful. Sons of Zeus can be...well, never mind."

Piper looked uncomfortable, and like she wanted to back away from the god but didn't dare.

"So, Hercules," Tobias decided to take the pressure off her. "We're on a quest to Rome and we'd like permission to pass into the Mediterranean."

Hercules shrugged. "That's why I'm here. After I died, Dad made me the doorkeeper of Olympus. I said, _Great! Palace duty! Party all the time!_ What he didn't mention is that I'd be guarding the doors to the ancient lands, stuck on this island for all eternity. Lots of fun."

"Well, there could be worse places. You get a nice view all that time, instead of some garbage island that people made with all their waste." Tobias pointed out, looking around.

"Maybe." The god conceded. "Still, it gets boring here with nobody around." He snorted and pointed at the pillars rising from the surf. "Stupid columns. Some people claim I created the whole Strait of Gibraltar by shoving mountains apart. Some people say the mountains _are_ the pillars. What a bunch of Augean manure. The pillars are the _pillars_."

"Right," Piper said. "Naturally. So...can we pass?"

Hercules scratched his beard. "Well, I have to give you the standard warning about how dangerous the ancient lands are. Not just any demigod can survive the Mare Nostrum. Because of that, I have to give you a quest to complete. Prove your worth, blah, blah, blah. Honestly, I don't make a big deal of it. Usually I give demigods something simple like a shopping trip, singing a funny song, that kinda thing. After all those labors I had to complete for my evil cousin Eurystheus, well... I don't want to be _that_ guy, you know?"

"Appreciate it." Jason said.

"Hey, no problem." Hercules sounded relaxed and easygoing, but Tobias's instinct for danger, which was honed from years of running, dealing with evil people, getting shot at, zapped at, stabbed at, and having various dangerous objects thrown at him, was starting to tingle. Things were going to go south in a few minutes, he could just tell.

"So, anyway, what's your quest?"

"Giants," Jason said. "We're off to Greece to stop them from awakening Gaea."

"Giants," Hercules mused. "I hate those guys. Back when I was a demigod hero... Ah, never mind. So which god put you up to this- Dad? Athena? Maybe Aphrodite?" He raised an eyebrow at Piper. "As pretty as you are, I'm guessing that's your mom."

Tobias's danger sense went from tingling to screaming in an instant. If they told Hercules who had assigned them this quest, then things would turn very dangerous, even by his standards. But before he could speak up...

"Hera sent us," Jason said. "She brought us together to-"

"Hera." Suddenly Hercules face was like the cliff of Gibraltar, a solid unforgiving sheet of rock.

"We hate her too," Piper spoke up quickly. "We didn't want to help her. She didn't give us much choice, but-"

"But here you are," Hercules said, all friendliness gone. "Sorry you three. I don't care how worthy your quest is, I don't do _anything_ Hera wants. Ever."

Jason looked mystified. "But I thought you made up with her when you became a god."

"Don't believe everything you here. If you want to pass into the Mediterranean, then I have to give you an extra hard quest."

"But we're like brothers," Jason protested. "Hera's messed with my life too. I understand-"

"You understand nothing," Hercules said coldly. "My first family: dead. My life wasted on ridiculous quests. My second wife dead, after being tricked into poisoning me and leaving me to a painful demise. And my compensation? I got to become a _minor _god. Immortal, so I can never forget my pain. Stuck here as a gatekeeper, a door man, a... a butler to the Olympians. No you don't understand. The only god who understands even a little is Dionysus. And at least he invented something useful. I have nothing to show except bad film adaptations of my life."

"Big freaking whoop."

Hercules stopped and looked at Tobias. Tobias could not believe what he had just heard from the immortal and it had set his emotions boiling, which was about to lead to his own little speech. He also noticed Jason and Piper looking at him with shock on their face from what he just said, but he didn't care at the moment,

"You're right, Dionysus is the only one can even partially understand you. I can't imagine what's it's like to have my first family dead, and you know why? Because I have never had a real family." Tobias clenched his fists, staring back defiantly into the eyes of the greatest demigod of all time. "I have never had real parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, nothing. I was created to do nothing but kill, and kill, and kill. I was molded from the time I could open my eyes to be used as an instrument of death, nothing but a tool to be pointed at something to kill. So don't go whining because you got the short end of the stick. You have good memories of your life and your story is one people draw inspiration from, while I've got so much blood on my hands that I can't see them anymore." He narrowed his eyes. "So tell me Hercules, who has had the harder life? Me or you?"

The two stared at each other for a few seconds before Hercules grunted.

"On the opposite side of this island, over those hills, you'll find a river. In the middle of the river is the old god Achelous." He waited, as if this information should send them running in terror.

"And?" Tobias said shortly, now wanting to get this quest over with and get away from the jerk of a god. Maybe punch something afterwards.

"_And_," Hercules said. "I want you to break off his other horn and bring it to me."

"He has horns," Jason said. "Wait... His _other _horn? What-?"

"Figure it out," the god snapped. "Here, this should help."

He said the word _help _like it meant _hurt_. From under his robes, Hercules took out a small book and tossed it to Tobias, who caught it with one hand. The books glossy cover had a photographic image of Greek temples and smiling monsters. The Minotaur was giving the thumbs up. The title read: _Hercules Guide to the Mare Nostrum._

"Bring me that horn by sundown," Hercules said. "Just the three of you. No contacting your friends. Your ship will remain where it is. If you succeed, you may pass into the Mediterranean."

"And if we don't?" Tobias asked flatly.

"Well, Achelous will kill you, obviously," Hercules said. "And I will break your ship in half with my bare hands and send your friends to an early grave."

Tobias's fingers made indents in the cover of the book while Jason shifted his feet.

"Couldn't we just sing a funny song?" He asked.

"I'd get going," Hercules. "Sundown. Or your friends are dead."

**A/N: I own nothing except for my OC**


End file.
